Effective Oct. 12, John Wright assumed the role of president for the newly-created Solce Fertilizer Co. LLC. Solce will primarily focus on buying and selling barges of fertilizer on the U.S. river system. Wright, who has 13 years of experience in the fertilizer industry and was most recently president of Keytrade North America Inc., is one of the partners in the business and will also lead the company.
Contact information is as follows: Solce Fertilizer Co. LLC, P.O. Box 3645, Apollo Beach, Fla. 33572; Phone: 813‑645‑2822; Fax: 813-645-3285; Mobile: 813‑205‑5135; Email: john.wright@solcefertilizer.com
Maria Ferrara-Gelardi was named executive vice president of international sales at Interoceanic Corp. Ferrara-Gelardi has over 20 years’ experience in international fertilizer markets and 25 years’ presence in the U.S. market. Her direct number is 203-962-5924; her email address is m.ferrara@ioccorp.com.
K+S Aktiengesellschaft, Kassel, Germany, reports that Dr. Uwe-Ernest Bufe has tendered his resignation from the K+S supervisory board to make way for MCC/EuroChem to obtain a seat on the board. George Spyridon Cardona, who is a member of the board of OJSC EuroChem Mineral and Chemical Co., Moscow, has joined the K+S board until the K+S annual meeting in May 2010. EuroChem reportedly now owns 16 percent of K+S.
The Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame has announced that Ben Hill Griffin III, chairman of the board and CEO of Ben Hill Griffin Inc., will be inducted into the Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame. Ben Hill Griffin Inc. is a private citrus and cattle company with vast holdings, which include Griffin Fertilizer Co., one of Florida’s largest producers of agricultural fertilizer.
Griffin’s father was a self-made millionaire who turned 10 acres of citrus groves into one of Florida’s biggest agribusinesses. Ben Hill Griffin Inc. came about in the late 1950s when the elder Griffin consolidated and operated approximately 11 different entities. Griffin will be honored during the 32nd annual awards celebration Feb. 9 during the Florida State Fair in Tampa.
Chad Desserich joined DASCO Inc., Monument, Colo., as director of animal feed products. He is a graduate of the University of Colorado with a B.S. in Business Administration. Desserich brings several years experience in the feed industry from companies such as A1 Organics and Cattleman’s Choice Loomix LLC.