Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) today announced actions to
align its investments and organization to better serve growing demand
for its products across Asia-Pacific.
“As populations and incomes across Asia continue to rise, diets are
evolving. With that shift comes an increase in demand for crops and
other products from agriculture. For decades, ADM has connected the
world’s harvest with the Asian market,” said ADM Chairman and CEO
Patricia Woertz. “Now, we’re taking a series of actions to enhance our
ability to efficiently serve that growing demand.
“As we previously announced, we’re investing to grow our food and feed
production with the addition of two production facilities in China.
We’re also making enhancements to our ports and logistics coordination
throughout the Asia-Pacific region, and we’re adding and aligning talent
to support growth. Together, these actions will strengthen our ability
to serve our customers in the region and improve coordination between
our operations within Asia and around the globe.”
Investing to Grow Asian Operations
Last month, ADM announced that the company is building a sweetener and
soluble-fiber manufacturing complex at the port of Tianjin in North
China to help meet growing demand in China and Asia for high-quality
food ingredients that can serve a wide variety of needs. The sweetener
facility is expected to be fully operational in early 2015, with the
soluble fiber facility operational in the second half of 2015.
ADM announced last fall that the company is constructing a facility in
Nanjing to produce animal feed premix that can be added to animal
rations to promote good health and optimal growth. Such premix formulas
typically contain vitamins and minerals, amino acids such as lysine and
threonine, and other ingredients. The facility is scheduled to begin
operations in mid-2015 and will complement ADM’s existing feed premix
plants in Dalian and Tianjin.
Through its acquisition of the remaining stake in Toepfer, ADM will
strengthen its merchandising operations in Asia-Pacific. The combined
ADM and Toepfer team in the region merchandises more than $14 billion in
commodities annually.
As part of the companywide effort to grow sales of higher-value
products, ADM is adding specialty ingredients sales offices in
Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Korea and Vietnam. The company already
has specialty ingredients sales teams in Singapore, Australia, Japan and
China.
Aligning the Organization to Support Growth
ADM will centralize coordination of its activities throughout
Asia-Pacific by moving its regional headquarters from Shanghai to
Singapore, which is the hub of the company’s regional merchandising
operations. Ismael Roig, president, ADM Asia-Pacific, will have
offices in both Singapore and Shanghai.
ADM will hire a new president of ADM China. The position will report to
Roig, be based in Shanghai, and focus on growing ADM’s sweetener
portfolio and feed business in China.
Collin Benson has been named president, ADM Australia and New
Zealand. He replaces Bill Fitzgibbon, who is retiring as operations
director of ADM’s Sydney office after 16 years of service growing ADM’s
food and feed ingredients business. Benson will be based in Sydney and
will continue to oversee ADM’s business in Japan and Korea. He brings 19
years of experience in grain merchandising and in food- and
feed-ingredient sales. For the last six years, he served as president of
ADM Japan. He will work to grow ADM’s operations in Australia and New
Zealand. Benson will lead the integration of the Adelaide-based Toepfer
business—among Australia’s top five agricultural commodity
exporters—with ADM’s Sydney-based food and feed ingredients business.
Benson will report to Roig.
As part of an effort to strengthen ADM’s ports, merchandising and
logistics across the region, Nigel Hart will join ADM as
director, Asia-Pacific Ports and Storage Development. Hart brings 15
years of experience in corporate development and grain logistics,
storage and merchandising, most recently with GrainCorp Limited. Based
in Sydney, he will support the growth of ADM’s port, logistics and
storage capabilities throughout Asia-Pacific. Hart will report to Roig.
Tim Henry, general manager, Toepfer Australia, will lead ADM’s
Australian grain merchandising operations as they become part of ADM’s
global Agricultural Services business. Henry has led the Australian
Toepfer business since 2011, having joined Toepfer in Singapore in 2008.
He has more than 15 years’ experience in grain merchandising.
To support growth across the company’s various businesses, ADM has
appointed Kristina Hermanson director, Business Development for
Southeast Asia. Hermanson has been with ADM since 2007 and brings to the
role more than 10 years of commercial, business-development,
project-management and integration experience. Hermanson will report to
Roig.
ADM in Asia-Pacific
ADM is one of the top exporters of agricultural commodities to
Asia-Pacific and markets an extensive range of food ingredients and
animal feeds and feed premixes through its network of sales offices
located throughout the region. ADM also holds a 16.8 percent stake in
Asian agribusiness Wilmar International Limited and a 19.85 percent
stake in Australian agribusiness GrainCorp Limited.
ADM in China
Since its entrance into the Chinese market in 1994, ADM has grown to
become a significant supplier of China’s rising demand for corn,
oilseeds and food and feed ingredients. Today, ADM employs more than 300
people in China.
In 1995, ADM began operating an animal-feed premix plant in Dalian. It
has since added another feed-premix plant in Tianjin and is constructing
a third in Nanjing. In 2005, ADM opened a commercial office in Shanghai
to serve the Chinese market for specialty food ingredients such as
lecithin, xanthan gum, acidulants, vitamin E and cocoa products. ADM is
currently building a sweetener and soluble-fiber manufacturing complex
at the port of Tianjin. The complex is ADM’s first wholly owned
food-ingredient production facility in China.
ADM in Australia
In Australia, ADM serves the markets for specialty-food and -feed
ingredients as well as industrial products. ADM is a leading provider of
amino acids for feed applications and of cocoa and lecithin for food
products. ADM’s Toepfer business markets wheat, barley and canola across
Australia. The company is among Australia’s top five domestic grain
merchandisers and among the top five agricultural commodity exporters.
About ADM
For more than a century, the people of Archer Daniels Midland Company
(NYSE: ADM) have transformed crops into products that serve vital needs.
Today, 31,000 ADM employees around the globe convert oilseeds, corn,
wheat and cocoa into products for food, animal feed, industrial and
energy uses. With more than 270 processing plants, 470 crop procurement
facilities, and the world’s premier crop transportation network, ADM
helps connect the harvest to the home in more than 140 countries. For
more information about ADM and its products, visit www.adm.com.
Copyright Business Wire 2014