Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) and A.C. Toepfer International (ACTI) announced Nov. 13 the formation of a new group to jointly manage the fertilizer business activities of the two companies. The ADM-ACTI Fertilizer Group will be responsible for coordinating the origination and trade flows of fertilizer for the two companies.
The group’s objectives will include expanding ADM’s South American fertilizer and chemical business and ACTI’s global origination, trading, and marketing business, and providing a broader range of agriculture inputs and services to both ADM and ACTI’s global customers.
“The joint expertise of ADM and ACTI will enhance the ability of the new group to achieve the above objectives, and we look forward to the synergies this partnership will provide,” added Hartwig Fuchs, chairman of the management board, A.C. Toepfer International.
The joint managing directors of the new group are Domingo Lastra, president, ADM South America Oilseed Division; and Jens Behncke, general manager, ACTI. Joining the new group from ACTI are Walter Singer, Hans Joachim von der Brelie, and Leon Schmidt-Lebuhn, who have been promoted to the positions of product director; and from ADM, Luiz Noto, who has been promoted to senior product manager.
To manage the coordination of this new group, Schmidt-Lebuhn and Noto will relocate to ADM’s European headquarters in Rolle, Switzerland, and functionally report to Joe Taets, managing director, ADM Europe. Singer and von der Brelie will continue to be based in Hamburg. Benton Kirk will continue in his current role of director, Fertilizer and Chemicals, ADM South America.
“We feel that significant value can be created with a combined group that leverages the origination, marketing, and distribution strengths of each company and represents both organizations in the global fertilizer market with one voice,” said Domingo Lastra.
ADM has some 27,000 employees, with more than 230 processing plants converting corn, oilseeds, wheat, and cocoa into products for food, animal feed, chemical, and energy uses. Its crop origination and transportation network connects crops and markets in more than 60 countries. Headquartered in Decatur, Ill., ADM had net sales for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2008, of $70 billion.
Since its foundation in 1919, Alfred C. Toepfer International GmbH has been actively involved in grain, oil seeds, vegetable oils, feedstuffs, and fertilizer. Today, the worldwide organization of Toepfer International consists of the headquarters, located in Hamburg, as well as more than 40 subsidiaries and branch offices throughout the world. The company has a workforce of over 2,000 employees and an annual sales volume of nearly 43 million tons.