CHS Inc. detailed more of its management changes in connection with the transition of Agriliance’s crop nutrients business to CHS’s Ag Business division. The transition will be completed in September, according to an earlier announcement from CHS, and the business will be organized around four core operating groups consisting of sales, product management, operations, and facilities.
CHS and its joint venture partner in Agriliance, Land O’Lakes Inc., announced on June 21 that they were repositioning two business segments of Agriliance, with the crop nutrients wholesale distribution business going to CHS and the crop protection products business going to LOL (GM June 25, p. 1).
As was reported earlier (GM Aug. 6, p. 9), Cheryl Schmura, former Agriliance vice president and chief financial officer, will lead the business as vice president, crop nutrients. Reporting directly to her will be Tim Chrislip, director, product management; Cathy Eckman, director, operations; and David Klima, director, facilities. The director of sales, yet to be named, will also report directly to Schmura.
Chrislip will be responsible for all supplier relationships, position and risk management, and business development. Reporting to him will be the product management team, including Burnie Baker, Jim Carlson, Jeff Greseth, Larry Klegin, Mike Meether, and Lisa Solberg. Luis Dowling will also report to Chrislip and will focus on the identification and exploration of expansion and partnering opportunities.
Eckman’s role directing the daily management of all business operations will include efforts to streamline operations, reduce re-work, and enhance productivity. Some of this productivity, Schmura said in a recent memo to employees, will come through coordination of business activities with other key CHS divisions. “We have a wealth of expertise within CHS that can enhance our operations,” she said.
Included in the company’s sales division will be the field sales force currently in place, combined with the National Account Sales division headed by Joe Myhra, the Industrial Sales position formerly held by Karin Nystrom, and the Retail Sales position currently held by Frank Edwards.
“Ours will be a strategy of growth and we will rely on this selling team to provide the reach to customers who are in need of the many services we can provide,” Schmura said. “We will be adding selected positions to our field sales force in the coming months, as well as complementing that field coverage with representation from the CPP account managers who are transferring to Land O’ Lakes. I am excited about this revitalized focus on the customer and the value we can bring to the marketplace.”
The company’s facilities management team, under Klima’s direction, will look for opportunities to expand geographically and ensure efficiency at operating facilities, Schmura said.
Doug Wonnacott, Agriliance’s vice president of crop nutrients, has decided to pursue other interests and will end his employment with Agriliance on Aug. 31. He will continue in a consulting capacity, however, and will provide transitional assistance during the coming weeks. Also leaving on Aug. 31 is Brian Thoma, Agriliance’s crop nutrients business director, who joined the company in November 2006. CHS’s earlier management announcement had listed both Wonnacott and Thoma as part of the new team, with Wonnacott originally in charge of supply and Thoma heading up product and risk management.
Wonnacott joined Agriliance in 2003 as vice president, supply. CHS said over the past several years, his responsibilities have included fertilizer procurement, agricultural chemicals procurement, manufacturing, logistics, facilities, proprietary agricultural chemicals, business development, and Canadian retail. In addition, he has played a central role in positioning the CN business of Agriliance as a key importer of products from around the globe. This sourcing strategy has enabled CN to maintain its competitive edge in today’s market, said CHS.
“I firmly believe we have a unique opportunity to position this business as the driving force in the crop nutrients arena,” Schmura said in the memo. “Our suppliers and our customers demand that of us and it will take each one of us, working as a team, to make it happen.”
Schmura also said that, under CHS ownership, the crop nutrients business “will benefit from the company’s capabilities in logistics, distribution, risk management and global trading. This is an incredibly exciting time for all of us, as we come together as a new team, with strong leadership and a new business approach.”
Still uncertain is the future of Agriliance’s retail agronomy business. CHS and LOL announced on July 11 that they were exploring alternatives for that segment as well, and were in exclusive negotiations for the sale of The Agronomy Company of Canada, ProSource One, and the Agriliance retail locations in the southern U.S. (GM July 16, p. 1) The negotiations are reportedly with a group that includes certain former members of Agriliance’s management team, along with financial backers.