CPM

CPM is a global leader in process equipment and engineered solutions, serving customers across the animal feed, oilseed processing, biofuels, and industrial markets. Through its Crown division, the global leader in oilseed processing technology for more than 75 years, CPM provides the equipment and expertise that underpins much of the world’s production of cooking oils, protein meals, and food ingredients. CPM’s mission—Feeding, Fueling and Building a Better World— reflects a commitment to innovation that advances both commercial performance and sustainability.

A Breakthrough in Sustainable Food Production: Monarc™ Clean Oilseed Processing
For more than seven decades, oilseed extraction using hexane, a petroleum-derived solvent, has been foundational to global food production. The process enabled the industry to scale efficiently, producing the cooking oils, protein meals, and ingredients that feed billions of people worldwide. CPM’s Crown division has been at the center of that legacy as the global leader in oilseed processing technology for over 75 years.

But CPM also recognized that the industry’s longstanding reliance on hexane posed a growing risk. Increasing regulatory scrutiny, rising consumer demand for clean-label products, and evolving workplace safety standards were converging to create pressure for change. The challenge was that no viable alternative had ever been able to match hexane’s efficiency and economics at industrial scale.

CPM spent more than five years working to solve that problem. Leveraging advanced process simulation software, its industry-leading R&D resources, and dozens of continuous, steady-state runs at its state-of-the-art Global Innovation Center, CPM developed Monarc™ Clean Oilseed Processing, a patent-pending, alcohol-based extraction technology that for the first time makes clean oilseed processing economically competitive with hexane.

Delivering Value Across Four Dimensions
Monarc’s™ impact is tangible, with distinct advantages that customers value in many ways. For food manufacturers focused on clean-label positioning, Monarc™ enables the production of products that qualify as clean-label, organic, and non-ultra-processed, opening access to premium market segments where transparency commands higher margins and stronger brand loyalty. The clean-label ingredients market, valued at over $50 billion in 2024, is projected to reach nearly $70 billion by 2029.

For customers prioritizing worker safety, the shift from hexane to a non-toxic, alcohol-based solution substantially reduces inhalation exposure risks, creating a safer factory environment and positioning adopters as employers of choice.

For companies navigating regulatory and permitting requirements, Monarc™ simplifies the path to building or expanding extraction facilities. Alcohol-based processing faces fewer regulatory hurdles than hexane, making new facility permitting faster and less complex—a meaningful advantage as the industry grows.

And for processors seeking feedstock flexibility, the technology is designed to work across a range of oilseeds—including soybeans, canola, and sunflower— supporting both new plant construction and retrofits of existing, hexane-based facilities.

CPM completed its first commercial sale of Monarc™ in 2025, with installation planned at a commercial-scale facility in Europe. CPM supports customers throughout the process, from testing and sampling at their Global Innovation Center, through design engineering, delivery, retrofitting of existing facilities or new construction, and start-up and commissioning.