February 18, 2010

 

 

 

Executives of Archer Daniels Midland Company has outlined the company's strategy for growing its business through a combination of increasing its overall volume, expanding its geographic footprint, diversifying its inputs, and growing its product portfolio.

 

Chairman, CEO and President Patricia Woertz said growth strategies for each of ADM's four business units seek to leverage ADM's current geographic footprint and expand to capitalise on future market opportunities.

 

Woertz noted that ADM has a leadership position in oilseeds processing in North America and Western Europe, and a smaller processing position in South America, where the company is a leading originator of soy. She said, "Our strategy is to grow in South America, Central and Eastern Europe and in India. We will also grow in China with our strategic partner in the region."

 

She continued, "We are the world's largest corn processor, with primarily US-based operations. We will increase the diversity of our product portfolio, and over the longer term, develop a global processing business using a variety of carbohydrate sources."

 

ADM's strategy is to extend its origination footprint as they have in Canada and Eastern Europe, and to grow destination opportunities in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, she said.

 

Steve Mills, executive vice president and chief financial officer, said that the company's oilseeds business has consolidated operations into more efficient processing facilities, expanded North and South American oilseed crushing capacities, expanded South American fertiliser blending capabilities, and acquired processing plants in Germany and Czech Republic.

 

He explained that ADM has enhanced its corn business by expanding ethanol production capacity through adding a dry corn mill, ethanol capacity at a wet corn mill, and a joint-venture sugarcane ethanol facility in Brazil. The company has also built two cogeneration plants that will reduce energy costs, and construction continues at a propylene and ethylene glycol plant and a bioplastics plant.

 

Woertz also discussed steps ADM is taking to build a stronger company. "We are focused on four corporate priorities--Safety, Performance, Cost Management and Sustainability--and we are making important progress in each area."

 

She noted five years of continuous improvement in lost workday incidents, a revised pay-for-performance compensation structure that aligns management compensation with stockholder interests, a cost-management programme, and the formation of sustainability working groups to coordinate the company's efforts around water use, climate change and supply chain management.

 

Archer Daniels Midland Company turns crops into renewable products at more than 230 processing plants worldwide. Corn, oilseeds, wheat and cocoa are converted into products for food, animal feed, chemical and energy uses.