Neste to buy Waterford animal fats firm to get raw material for green jet fuel

One of Finland’s biggest companies has agreed a deal to buy a Waterford company that renders animal fats. Helsinki-headquartered Neste says it will use the output of family-owned Walco Foods, which is based near Tramore, to supply raw materials to its division that makes sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

Neste, which is listed in the US and Finland and has a stock market valuation of €38 billion, is buying Walco from local Waterford businessman Kevin Walshe and his wife and co-director, Mary Walshe. Mr Walshe has been involved for decades in the animal fat and meat byproducts sector.

The price for the deal has not been revealed. Ms Walshe did not comment on the transaction when asked about the Neste buyout on Sunday.

Walco was set up by the Walshe family in 1996. Its financial performance is obscured from public view by its status as an unlimited company.

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Neste, which is primarily a fuel refiner, also describes itself as “the world’s leading producer of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel produced from waste and residue raw materials”, such as animal fats. It said the Walco deal “is another important step for Neste in the execution of our growth strategy”.

“With this acquisition, we continue to build a global waste and residue raw material platform and add trading capabilities in Ireland,” said Matti Lehmus, president and chief executive of Neste. It said Walco’s output, along with other deals for similar companies in the US and the Netherlands, would add to its supply of raw materials for refining into alternative fuels.

Companies such as Neste have been attracted to the sustainable fuels market by a global shortage of products such as SAF, which is more than twice as expensive as normal aviation fuel. It is made from fats and other renewable sources, which are mixed in with traditional aviation fuel, producing lower emissions than pure kerosene.

Airlines say SAF will help to lower the emissions from flying, but they argue governments must do more to subsidise its production.