Trupointe Cooperative Inc. in Piqua, Ohio, and Sunrise Cooperative in Fremont, Ohio, announced on March 8 that members of both organizations have approved a merger that was first announced last December (GM Dec. 11, 2015).
Ballots were tallied on March 7 at special meetings held at each company’s corporate office, with 64 percent of Sunrise’s members and 73.9 percent of Trupointe’s members voting in favor of the merger. The companies said the majorities exceeded the 60 percent minimum requirement for the merger to proceed, noting that 68.1 percent of Sunrise’s voting members had returned ballots, compared with 47.6 percent of Trupointe’s members.
“This merger really was and is about creating more for our members together than we could separately,” said George Secor, president and CEO of Sunrise, who will also take the helm of the combined co-op. “As we move forward, we will work hard to deliver on that promise for our members.”
According to a voting tabulation document posted to the Sunrise website, 1,269 Sunrise members voted in favor of the merger, while 713 voted against. Of the 1,779 votes cast by Trupointe members, 1,314 supported the merger.
The combined business will begin operations on Sept. 1, 2016, under a name that has yet to be determined by the new board of directors. The 12-member board, which will have six members from each co-op, will also move quickly to select a location for the company’s headquarters.
Trupointe and Sunrise said the combined business will have more than $900 million in annual sales, with a number of key benefits for members, including stronger equity that will continue returning profits to members through timely equity redemption; increased ability for greater investments in facilities and assets; and access to key partnerships and product supply chains to expand opportunities for innovation.
The companies offered no other details on whether certain locations would combine operations or if some facilities would close as a result of the merger. Trupointe serves approximately 4,100 members in west-central Ohio and northeastern Indiana, and operates agronomy, grain, feed, fuel, propane, turf, and retail store divisions from some 27 locations in that trade area.
Trupointe’s agronomy centers are located in Milford and Fort Wayne, Ind., and at Ohio locations in Botkins, Georgetown, Maplewood, Medway, Osgood, South Charleston, Springfield, St. Marys, Starbuck, and Uniopolis. The co-op offers grain services at 18 locations, and has farm and ranch stores in Georgetown, Minster, Springfield, and Xenia; feed and livestock locations in New Bremen, St. Anthony, and Xenia; and fuel centers in Lebanon, Minster, Springfield, and Wilmington.
Sunrise is a full-service co-op serving 3,200 member-owners in a 12-county area of north-central Ohio. The company has 192 employees and total annual sales of $525 million, and operates grain, agronomy, feed, and energy divisions from approximately 10 Ohio locations. Sunrise’s four agronomy facilities are located at Attica, Ballville, Crestline, and Norwalk, and its five grain facilities have total storage capacity of more than 27 million bushels.
“This is a merger of equals and intention, not necessity,” said Secor. “The fact that we were both able to select a partner who paralleled our strengths and vision for the future is one of the strongest ways to begin a new venture.”