March 8, 2011

GrainCorp appoints head of European office

GrainCorp has confirmed the appointment of Carsten Hojland as the head of the company's European grain trading office.

GrainCorp Managing Director Alison Watkins said, "At our recent investor day, I announced our intention to establish a grain trading operation in Europe, from where we will be offering a broader range of grain supply services to customers."

"I am pleased to announce the appointment of Carsten Hojland who served as global head of grains and oilseeds for Toepfer International, and brings over 25 years of grain and oilseed industry experience to GrainCorp. He will head our Hamburg based European team," she said.

Watkins also said that GrainCorp's European strategy would be significantly different from that of other Australian grain companies.

"Consistent with our previous public statements, the new Hamburg office will be an extension of our head office trading activities in Sydney. The new office will also provide support to customers; allow us to more effectively 'plug in' to European grain market intelligence, and enable GrainCorp to offer grain to customers from other origins, where market conditions or opportunities arise," she said.

GrainCorp's Hamburg office will be progressively established over the next four months.