All Posts from October 3, 2013

Agrium’s Wilson to retire; Magro tapped as CEO

Agrium Inc.’s board of directors has appointed Agrium’s Chief Operating Officer Chuck Magro to succeed Mike Wilson as CEO upon his retirement, which will be effective Dec. 31, 2013. Magro will join the Agrium board immediately.

“I am confident that with Chuck’s leadership skills and industry experience, combined with the strength of our executive leadership team, the company will continue to build on Agrium’s high performance culture to drive operational excellence and bring value to all of our key stakeholders,” said Mike Wilson, Agrium president and CEO.

“On behalf of the entire board of directors, I would like to express my thanks to Mike for his drive, dedication and leadership in implementing our integrated strategy and very successful expansionary phase that was envisioned nearly a decade ago. The success of our strategy has resulted in Agrium’s share price increasing by over 500 percent in the past decade,” said Board Chair Victor Zaleschuk. “We are pleased Mike has agreed to remain on the Agrium board until the next Annual General Meeting.”

Magro was appointed chief operating officer in 2012. Prior to this, he held the role of executive vice president, corporate development & chief risk officer and was responsible for a number of core areas within Agrium. He joined Agrium following an extensive career with Nova Chemicals, a major petrochemical manufacturer.

He has a Bachelor of Applied Science (Chemical Engineering) from the University of Waterloo and an MBA from the University of Windsor.

Brandt acquires two locations

Brandt, Springfield, Ill. reports that it has acquired two retail agronomy locations near Decatur, Ill.– Hardy Fertilizer, Mount Auburn, Ill., and Niantic Crop Service, Niantic, Ill. They have extended Brandt’s reach to the east. “As a family company, we welcome the Hardy and Niantic employees to the Brandt family,” said Brandt President and CEO Rick Brandt. “Our goal is always to make 1+1=3. With the caliber of people who are joining us, we are going to make that happen. We will truly be a stronger company with our combined resources.”

Brandt said the acquisition of Hardy fits Brandt’s aggressive corporate strategy of providing superior agronomic advice and services for customers in central Illinois. The combined company has 24 retail locations throughout central Illinois, serving nearly 1 million acres of production farmland. Brandt offers a broad range of products and services, including plant nutrients, crop protection products, precision ag and custom application.

“Hardy comes to us with a 53-year reputation of impeccable service and a strong set of corporate values,” continued Brandt, “Our cultures and values just naturally aligned. Hardy has always been a customer-driven company with high-integrity employees who thrive when faced with big goals. That’s exactly what we look for as we continue to expand.”

Both Hardy and Niantic will be integrated into Brandt’s retail agronomy division, under the leadership of Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President Tim McArdle.

“I could not be more thrilled about this opportunity,” said McArdle. “It’s truly an honor to join forces with Gene Hardy and to carry on his legacy of always putting the customer first. Our goal is to keep that going. We are going to bring on all the managers, administrators and operators to continue to do the excellent work our customers deserve.”

Gene Hardy, founder of both Hardy Fertilizer and Niantic Crop Service, will remain with Brandt, providing strategic operations management and key account leadership.

“The marketplace is changing,” said Hardy, “And for us to take our customer services to the next level, we needed to align ourselves with a company that has the resources, shares similar values and has a high level of customer commitment. Brandt is that dynamic, diverse company. I am truly excited about our future together. ”

“This is an important strategic move for Brandt,” said Rick Brandt. “I want to thank Gene and Ginger Hardy for their leadership, vision and ultimately faith in the Brandt family. I am confident that our combined company is positioned to thrive and grow into the future.”