All Posts from August 24, 2018

Southern States Cooperative – Management Brief

Management Briefs

Southern States Cooperative, Richmond, Va., has promoted Steve Becraft to chief operating officer and hired Sean Knapp as the new executive vice president of agronomy.

Knapp will lead the co-op’s Agronomy Business Unit, which includes agronomy product line leadership and logistics for both their wholesale and retail businesses. He will also focus on maximizing the co-op’s agronomy supplier relationships.

Knapp most recently held a commercial lead position with Compass Minerals, Overland Park, Kan. He has also held a variety of leadership positions in sales, marketing, strategy, and commercial leadership over the course of 19 years with Syngenta Crop Protection. His early career included a sales position with Twin County Farm Service Co., an Illinois cooperative, where he was a Certified Crop Adviser. He holds a B.S. in agribusiness economics from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.

“We’re excited to welcome someone with Sean’s diverse ag experience and leadership capabilities to lead our Agronomy Business Unit,” said Jeff Stroburg, president and CEO for Southern States. “His experience and track record of success will provide the leadership we need to expand on the success that Steve Becraft has initiated over the past couple of years. This move also allows us to expand Steve’s role to improve retail operations across the company, and we look forward to the positive results that will bring.”

Becraft, Southern States’ previous head of agronomy, moves into the role of chief operating officer, a new position within the organization that will focus on operational excellence through engagement of the co-op’s company owned retail stores and elevating the importance of their member cooperatives.

Agrinos – Management Brief

Management Briefs, Specialty

Biological crop input provider Agrinos, Davis, Calif., has announced that Valerie Leddy has joined the company as vice president, global human resources. Previously, she served as director of human resources for a global biotech and medical device company based in Rancho Cordova, Calif. She holds certifications for Senior Professional Human Resources, SPHR (HRCI, SHRM) and Professional Excellence in Coaching (IPEC), and has a master’s degree in organizational development.

Tessenderlo Reports 2Q, 1H Results

Europe, News, News Briefs, Specialty

Tessenderlo Group, Brussels, reported second-quarter REBITDA of €62.3 million on revenues of €456 million, compared to the year-ago €65.7 million and €463.6 million, respectively. The company said when excluding foreign exchange, Agro REBITDA was up, while revenues increased 6.4 percent.

Company-wide first-half EBITDA was down 17 percent, to €100.1 million on revenues of €840.2 million from the year-ago €120.6 million and €894.9 million. First-half Agro REBITDA was off 8.8 percent, to €69.6 million on revenues of €333.3 million versus the year-ago €76.4 million and €362.7 million, respectively.

However, after excluding foreign exchange, the company said both REBITDA (+1.2 percent) and revenues (-1.1 percent) were stable. The company cited lower volumes within Tessenderlo Kerley International, which it said could not be compensated for by other Agro activities and included new Thio-Sul® production in Rouen, France, in third-quarter 2017 and lower maintenance expenses.

Tessenderlo said company-wide 2018 REBITDA continues to be impacted by the evolution of the Euro/U.S. Dollar exchange rate and raw material prices. The company now expects 2018 REBITDA to be lower than 2017’s, but said it could still match 2017 should the purchase of T-Power nv (GM April 27, p. 29) be achieved by the end of September.

Nufarm Selects Mississippi for New Plant

News, News Briefs

Nufarm Americas Inc., Alsip, Ill., on Aug. 21 reported the dedication of its new North American manufacturing facility in Greenville, Miss. The company said the facility will support its growing herbicide and cotton portfolios with state-of-the-art formulation and packaging operations.

The 16-acre site was selected after an extensive review throughout the Mississippi River Delta region. It features an existing 104,500-square-foot facility that will be fully renovated to suit Nufarm’s manufacturing needs. Renovation is set to begin late this summer, with commercialization planned for summer 2019.

“This is truly a plant for our customers,” said Brad Hyman, vice president of crop protection sales. “Our customers needed a consistent, high-quality, and efficient supply of our product to the southeastern U.S. region, and this new plant allows us to accomplish that with more success and flexibility than ever before.”

Nufarm plans to establish the new plant with a two-part approach. Phase one will feature the hiring of a core team of 10-15 people and establishment of engineering, process equipment, and technology infrastructure. Phase two will include the hiring of 30-50 skilled workers over five years, building and property upgrades, and further technology and infrastructure investments.

 

Avenira Lines Up Funds for Feasibility Study

Africa, Australia, News, News Briefs, Phosphate Rock

Phosphate rock mining company Avenira Ltd., Subiaco, Western Australia, reports that it has received some A$800,000 in a tranche one (40 million shares at $0.02 per share) stock placement, and anticipates another $2 million from tranche two (99,999,999 shares at $0.02 per share) pending shareholder approval at a Sept. 20 meeting. In all, the two tranches will account for 139,999,999 shares.

Major shareholders Agrifos Partners LLC, Tablo Corp., and Agrifields MCC have committed $2 million to the capital raising process.

The money is expected to be used for both for general corporate purposes and to complete a feasibility study at Avenira’s flagship project, the 80 percent Baobab Phosphate Project in Senegal, West Africa. The study is expected to be completed in fourth-quarter 2018, and will consider a major expansion and upgrade of the beneficiation plant at Baobab’s Gadde Bissik mine and subsequently implementing next-step investments toward longer-term downstream integration.

Avenira said given the positive upward movement in the phosphate rock market, it is also planning to review its other major phosphate asset, the 100-percent owned Wonarah Phosphate Project in Australia’s Northern Territory. It said Wonarah has one of the largest known phosphate projects in Australia.

Avenira also owns a 7 percent stake in JDCPhosphates, Fort Meade, Fla., a private company that is developing the Improved Hard Process (IHP), which would produce high-grade phosphoric acid using low-quality phosphate rock tailings (GM Aug. 10, p. 31). The process does not produce phosphogypsum and co-produces a commercially useful aggregate – J-Rox for construction and road building. Avenira has exclusive license rights to use IHP in Australia and Senegal.

Gensource Quickly Jumps EIA Hurdle

News, News Briefs, Potash, Saskatchewan

Junior miner Gensource Potash Corp., Saskatoon, said on Aug. 9 that it has received a determination from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment that its Vanguard One project some 150 km northwest of Regina is “not a development,” and is not required to complete a full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

Gensource President and CEO Mike Ferguson said this was a fantastic outcome. “It is a decision that we anticipated due to the fact that our approach to potash mining is radically different from traditional potash projects – Vanguard One will be much more environmentally friendly, with no salt tailings and no brine ponds of any sort. This determination not only confirms one of our core values as a company – to provide a cleaner source of potash production – but it is also a crucial element to our project success, as it enables a much faster, more efficient, and cost-effective overall project development timeline.”

Gensource also noted the project’s small footprint – 22 acres – compared to a conventional potash mine. The layout can also accommodate a doubling of the initial 250,000 mt/y of production without a footprint increase. In addition, the mine is expected to have reduced impact to local utilities and infrastructure, and reduced water consumption on a per mt of product produced.

Gensource said its selective solution mining and enhanced potash recovery and process techniques drive down the operating costs per mt to a globally competitive level at approximately $40/mt.

As a result of the Ministry decision, Gensource can now proceed to the next stage of the environmental regulatory process: detailed construction licensing. Although the company must also line up project financing, this may be made easier as the company in May lined up a definitive offtake agreement with a North American diversified agricultural company for the sale of 100 percent of Vanguard One’s production for a period of 10 years (GM May 25, p. 1). As earlier reported, Gensource has another nonbinding agreement with a second North American company (GM March 23, p. 27), and has also been in negotiations to supply Brazilian consumption (GM April 20, p. 1).

Vanguard One is expected to employ 46 and utilize 150 to complete construction. It is expected to take 18-22 months to construct.

Venezuela Seeks to Annul Award to Koch

News, News Briefs, Venezuela

Cash-strapped Venezuela on Aug. 17 filed an application for an annulment with the World Bank’s International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) pertaining to over $400 million earlier awarded to two Koch-owned companies.

Koch Minerals Sarl and Koch Nitrogen International Sarl filed to enforce the award in U.S. District Court in late 2017 (GM Dec. 1, 2017). The award pertained to Venezuela’s 2010 nationalization of FertiNitro (GM Oct. 18, 2010). The Koch companies filed a complaint with ICSID in 2011 (GM Aug. 1, 2011)

Koch Minerals Sarl had a minority stake of at least 25 percent in FertiNitro, and Koch Nitrogen International had an ammonia and urea offtake agreement. Venezuela failed to compensate either business for the expropriation of their interests at the time.

FertiNitro, located in the Jose Petrochemical Complex in Venezuela, ranked as one of the world’s largest nitrogen-based fertilizer plants, with nameplate daily production capacity of 3,600 mt of ammonia and 4,400 mt of urea. Other owners included Venezuela’s state-owned Pequiven, Snamprogetti SpA, and Cerveceria Polar CA.

The arbitration tribunal awarded Koch Minerals more than $168 million and Koch Nitrogen nearly $222 million, according to a Bloomberg report. The panel also awarded companies more than $17 million in legal costs and nearly $629,000 to cover arbitration costs.

N-Sure Approved for Engenia Combo

News, News Briefs, Specialty

Tessenderlo Kerley Inc., Phoenix, recently reported that its Crop Vitality business unit’s N-Sure®, a liquid, slow-release nitrogen fertilizer, has been approved as a tank-mix nutritional for Engenia® herbicide. The company said N-Sure supplies a stabilized form of nitrogen uniquely formulated for foliar applications on all crop varieties.

“N-Sure® is one more tool growers can now use when applying Engenia® herbicide on dicamba tolerant soybeans or cotton,” said Patrick Giannetti, Crop Vitality product manager. “Adding N-Sure® to your Engenia® herbicide application gives growers the ability to improve application efficiency and enhance yield potential.” Engenia® herbicide is a registered trademark of BASF Corp.

Growers can use N-Sure® as a carrier not only for herbicides, but also for fungicides, insecticides, and other micronutrients.

Disclaimer of Warranty
All information has been obtained by Green Markets from sources believed to be reliable. However, because of the possibility of human or mechanical error by our sources, Green Markets or others, Green Markets does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information.

For additional details visit our Terms of Use.