He was at the origin of the emergence of a powerful industrial sector resulting from rapeseed and sunflower cultivation, based on the outlet for agrocarulars
MO12345LEMONDE
Philippe Tillous-Borde, one of the major actors in French agro-industry, died on Saturday December 17. He was 76 years old. He is at the origin of the emergence of a powerful industrial sector resulting from rapeseed and sunflower culture, based in particular on the outlet for agrocarulars. Non -food use of agricultural products that has not failed to arouse controversies.
Training an agricultural engineer, he began his career in the Oleafin group. In the early 1980s, he contributed with Jean-Claude Sabin to the birth of the Sofiprotéol group. He was general manager from 1983 to 2012.
Sofiprotéol, little known to the general public despite the acquisition of emblematic oil brands like Lesieur and Puget, has imposed itself in agrofuels, with the Diester, animal feed with its subsidiary Sanders, oleochemistry, But also has a financial armed wing to invest in the food industry.
From 2000, the presidency of Sofiprotéol was provided by Xavier Beulin, appointed ten years later to the presidency of the FNSEA agricultural union, until his death in 2017. The proximity between Sofiprotéol and the FNSEA had been debated . But the links remain strong, since Arnaud Rousseau, successor of Mr. Beulin to the presidency of the agro-industrial group is now a candidate for the succession of Christiane Lambert at the head of the FNSEA in 2023.
Public utility
In 2012, Mr. Tillous-Borde, had sold his post as director general to Jean-Philippe Puig and had become president of the April Foundation, new name of the Sofiprotéol group since 2015. This foundation of public utility had become On this occasion the first shareholder of the April group transformed into a company in a joint commandite. The name Sofiprotéol has remained attached to the financial investment subsidiary.
m. Tillous-Borde therefore closely followed the destinies of the April group until 2021. The company then weighed 5.8 billion euros, with a presence in Europe but also in the Maghreb. Network man, he has played his influence with political bodies in Paris as in Brussels.
Rugby lover, he also remained attached to his region of origin, the Basque Country. He had chosen to tell his professional destiny without eluding his problems of visually impaired in a work entitled A visionary business man, 40 years old in the service of an agricultural ambition for France, published by Eyrolles editions in 2015.