All Posts from February 1, 2012

Andersons completes purchase of New Eezy Gro

The Andersons Inc. said today it has completed the purchase of New Eezy Gro Inc. a manufacturer and wholesale marketer of specialty agricultural nutrients and industrial products, with operations in Carey and Sycamore, Ohio.

“The opportunity is a continuation of The Andersons’ strategy of investing in logical business, operational and geographic adjacencies," says CEO Mike Anderson. "We will extend the same value system of providing exceptional customer service and enjoying lasting relationships to customers in this specialty agriculture arena."

New Eezy Gro., including its Golden Eagle Product line, will be part of The Andersons Plant Nutrient Group.

"The addition of New Eezy Gro supports our strategy of growing our business through an expanded product offering to serve more customers," says Bill Wolf, president, Plant Nutrient Group. "We are pleased to add this new business to our group as it significantly expands our total specialty and industrial product offerings to key customer groups in important markets."

Jerry Taylor, founder and president of New Eezy Gro, adds: "As part of The Andersons, our staff is pleased to offer our products and services with the assurance of quality solutions."

New Eezy Gro was founded in 1984 and supplies liquid calcium nitrate and other specialty products to the specialty agriculture and industrial markets primarily in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

Yara acquires control of Burrup

Yara International ASA reports that it has acquired 16 percent of Burrup Holdings Limited (BHL) for USD 143 million, increasing its ownership share in the company to 51 percent. Concurrently, Apache Energy has acquired the remaining 49 percent of the shares in BHL, and signed a new shareholders’ agreement with Yara.

"We are pleased to secure majority ownership in our Burrup activity and enter a closer cooperation with Apache Energy, representing another important step in Yara’s strategic growth ambitions. Today marks the end of a challenging period for what we have always regarded as a world-class asset, and we look forward to integrating Burrup fully into Yara’s global production system. Furthermore, today’s agreement allows us to intensify work on the planned technical ammonium nitrate (TAN) project in the Burrup peninsula together with Apache," said President and CEO Jørgen Ole Haslestad.

The wholly-owned BHL subsidiary, Burrup Fertilisers Pty Ltd (BFPL), operates an ammonia plant completed in 2006 and located at the Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia, with an annual production capability of approximately 850,000 mt. BFPL entered into a revised long-term natural gas supply contract with Apache Energy in November 2011.

The Burrup Nitrates project will now proceed with 75.5 percent Yara ownership and 24.5 percent Apache ownership, to construct a TAN plant with annual nameplate capacity of 330,000 mt in close proximity to the existing Burrup ammonia plant. Yara said the proposed TAN plant’s close proximity to the Pilbara mining industry together with adjacent ammonia supply gives it a distinct advantage over other ammonium nitrate suppliers. Yara has an agreement to market the entire output from the plant.

"We will re-name our Burrup activity to Yara Pilbara, marking a more active role for Yara in the region as we move swiftly to establish Yara standards of corporate governance. We now look forward to working with public and private stakeholders to shape and strengthen the long-term future of the Pilbara region," said Haslestad.

Major players conclude 1Q Tampa sulfur business

Major players have now concluded their first quarter sulfur contracts for Tampa. As a result, Tampa contract business for the quarter dropped some $48/lt to $172/lt from the fourth quarter 2011. Sources cited the cut in DAP production in the U.S. as one major factor as well as falling DAP prices. The falling prices follow an $83/mt drop in Tampa ammonia prices just last week.

For more information see the web-edition of Green Markets to be posted Feb. 3, 2012.