H&R Ag Inc., a regional farm service center located in Pasco, Wash., has been purchased by the J.R. Simplot Company AgriBusiness Group, and will become part the company’s Simplot Grower Solutions business. The sale was completed on Jan. 7, 2008. No financial details were disclosed.
Bill Whitacre, president of the Simplot AgriBusiness Group, said the acquisition follows a strategy to expand into key new products, services, and geographies within the company’s core service area. “The successful operation that H&R has built is a perfect fit for us to be able to enhance our customer service in the Columbia Basin,” Whitacre said. “This acquisition will add strength and breadth to our Simplot Grower Solutions network in the area.”
H&R was started by Richard Underwood in 1988, and has eight full-time employees. The business’s main operation is in Pasco, with satellite locations in Washington and Oregon. Local reports said Underwood will remain with the business, but his job title was not disclosed. Dave Dufault, vice president and general manager of Simplot AgriBusiness Retail Division, said Underwood would “still be an important part of the operation.”
Underwood said a strategic alliance with a manufacturer like Simplot would benefit the business. “Simplot handled the whole transaction with thoroughness, speed and a great deal of respect for our employees and customers,” he said. “We have had a long term relationship with an outstanding group of customers that have come to depend on our services and products; we are especially pleased that the Simplot Company is going to be taking care of them well into the future.”
Headquartered in Boise, Idaho, the J.R. Simplot Company is a privately-held agribusiness with 10,000 employees worldwide and major operations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Australia, and China. The company had revenues of $3.4 billion last year. Principle operations include fertilizer manufacturing and distribution, farm service centers, food processing, farming, ranching, and livestock production.