Rio Pardo strengthens its technical area to expand the soy protein market in animal nutrition.

Aware of the demand for ingredients with greater nutritional efficiency in animal production, Rio Pardo Proteína Vegetal has strengthened its technical and commercial structure. The company, which operates in the market for soy protein concentrates for poultry, swine, and fish nutrition, has hired veterinarian Bruno Wernick as technical sales manager. With over 30 years of experience in the sector, the executive arrives with the mission of expanding the company's market presence and strengthening technical support for clients, at a time when the company projects growth of approximately 151% in 2026, driven by the expansion of its customer base and the increased demand for ingredients with higher nutritional performance.

A graduate of the State University of Londrina (UEL), the executive joins the company with the mission of expanding its market presence and strengthening technical support for the sales team. Wernick has built his career in global companies in the sector. For the past 15 years, he worked at BASF, a world leader in animal nutrition. Previously, he worked at Cargill and In Vivo Animal Nutrition, owner of the Purina brand. Throughout his career, he has also participated in the sector's scientific production, co-authoring more than 38 technical articles focused on swine, poultry, and fish nutrition. The specialist holds a postgraduate degree in Animal Nutrition from FAISA (University of Santo Ângelo) and an MBA in Administration with an emphasis on Marketing from FGV.

According to Wernick, one of the challenges in the sector is to broaden the technical understanding of strategic ingredients for feed formulation. “Animal production involves a vast chain of professionals, from nutritionists to sales teams, buyers, and feed mill managers. Many of these professionals deal with highly technical ingredients and need to understand well the role of each component in the animals' diet,” he states. According to the executive, disseminating this knowledge in a clear and applied way can contribute to more efficient decisions in feed formulation and productive performance. “The idea is to translate science in a practical way for those who are involved in the day-to-day operation. The greater the understanding of the ingredients used, the better the results tend to be in productivity and feed efficiency,” he concludes.

Osvaldo Neves de Aguiar, director of Rio Pardo

According to Osvaldo Neves de Aguiar, director of Rio Pardo, the arrival of the professional reinforces the company's growth strategy in the sector. "Our goal is to improve the team's technical expertise regarding the company's portfolio. This is fundamental to expanding our market presence and delivering increasingly efficient solutions to our clients," he states.

Proven digestibility

Studies conducted by institutions such as Aquadvise (Chile), the Federal University of Viçosa (UFV), and Unesp indicate high digestibility rates for Rio Pardo's soy protein concentrates. In the tests performed, the products showed digestibility above 98% for salmon, compared to approximately 90% on average in the market. In swine, the rate reached 94.32%, compared to approximately 88% in conventional products. In chickens and turkeys, the rate was 83.7%, higher than the 79.4% recorded in the market.

Patented technology

The technology used by the company in processing soy protein concentrate is patented in Brazil, the United States, the European Union, Japan, Chile, and Canada. The key difference lies in the unification of the soy processing steps, which traditionally occur in separate phases. In the conventional method, the oil is initially extracted from the grain, followed by heating to remove solvents and, subsequently, a second stage to remove soluble carbohydrates and antinutritional factors, a process that requires further application of heat. At Rio Pardo, these steps are carried out in a single industrial process, significantly reducing the consumption of thermal and electrical energy, as well as improving the refinement of the final ingredient.