Syensqo S.A. (Brussels, Belgium) announced the reopening of its synthetic vanillin production unit in Saint-Fons, France, which had been mothballed since May 2024. The unit is scheduled to resume operations by the end of 2025, responding to changing market conditions and strengthening its support for European customers in the food, flavor and fragrance sectors.
The decision to mothball the unit was made in a challenging context of inflation, declining demand, and intensified competition—especially from Asian markets. Recent developments, including the imposition of 131% anti-dumping duties by the European Commission, supported by the French government and minimum 232% additional duties in the United States should significantly reshape the competitive landscape, supporting regional producers. In this new context, reopening the Saint-Fons unit provides an opportunity to reinforce Syensqo’s regional production capabilities and production volumes to better serve European customers and assure supply chain resilience.
The Saint-Fons site, which continues to produce natural vanillin and hydroquinone, will now also resume synthetic vanillin production. With complementary production in Baton Rouge (USA) and in Zhenjiang, China, Syensqo will have localized manufacturing in each of its major regions, thereby offering greater supply reliability and responsiveness to its global customer base.
The reopening is expected to create around 25 new positions.