The management transition has begun at Olsen’s Mill, which ended up in receivership after playing a major role in the state’s agribusiness for decades, according to information provided Green Markets. Neither the Olsen brothers or the new owners, headed by Phillip Martini, president and CEO of C.R. Meyer and Sons, Oshkosh, Wisc., were available to talk about the details. But GM has learned that Martini, who was supposed to sign the final documents April 24, has moved to assume control of Olsen’s Mill, which has 10 locations scattered in the central and southern part of Wisconsin and has both grain and agronomy as its core businesses. None of that is expected to change, sources reported.
Martini has named himself president and has elevated the organization’s division heads for grain, agronomy, accounting, and other units to vice presidents reporting to him, according to sources. The name Olsen’s Crop Service is now the name on the website, and Martini has registered Olsen’s Crop Service LLC with the state. Olsen brothers Paul and David will be largely out of the business, although according to a knowledgeable source David may continue in a limited role. Brother Luther is a state senator and has not been directly associated with the business.
“Things at Olsen’s might be back to relatively smooth waters now, but we (the Olsens and others relying on the business) have been through a bit of turmoil…call it a great bit of angst,” John Petty, executive director of the Wisconsin Agri-Service Association, offered. He said the court awarded the sale to Martini et al., which had the Olsens’ backing as the second highest bidder. The other bidder, French bank BNP Paribas, which lent some $58 million to Olsen’s, could still appeal. The good news, according to Petty, is that Martini, whom he described as “apparently having very deep pockets,” has promised he would honor pre-paid agronomy and the to-arrive or contract grain – after the bank, which forced the receivership issue, clearly stated it would not. “People are feeling a whole lot better than they did two or three weeks ago,” he suggested, “but there are still some who are saying they don’t know if they want to deal with that company.”
Petty termed C.R. Meyer as an “absolutely rock-solid impeccable company.”
David Olsen, Olsen’s Mill president, told GM in a brief conversation that “the outcome was definitely one that we look favorably on.”
Petty didn’t have a clear picture of what caused the Olsens’ financial failures, but did agree that their becoming principals in two ethanol operations had something to do with it. One of them, Renew Energy, filed for Chapter 11 in late January and let go of about a fifth of its workforce in February. The factory has been operating since 2007 and is currently the state’s largest ethanol facility, with an annual production capacity of 130 million gallons. The bankruptcy filings do not affect Renew’s sister plant, Utica Energy. “They were interconnected (with Olsen’s Mill) because of a supply agreement, and when one got into trouble it was a matter of it bleeding into the other business,” Petty surmised.
Olsen’s Mill, Berlin, Wisc., actually filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy April 8; however, it was rejected by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. In the filing, Olsen’s said it had estimated liabilities of between $1-$10 million, and between 200-999 creditors. The top 20 unsecured creditors were owed a combined $5.3 million. No major fertilizer suppliers appeared on this list, though it did contain large farms, elevators, railroads, and other input suppliers – Monsanto AG Products LLC, Syngenta Seed Inc., and Garst Seed Co.
The Olsen’s website cites ten locations, at least three of which deal with fertilizer and other inputs, including Auroraville, Stevens Point, and Westfield. Olsen’s also owns Precision Crop Service, which provides GPS grid services, conventional soil sampling, variable rate fertilizer application, and other services.