September 7, 2011

ADM expands oilseeds preparation capacity in India

Archer Daniels Midland Company declared the expansion of their international oilseed preparation capacity upon purchasing two oilseed preparation facilities from Geepee Agri Private Limited  located in cities of Kota and Akola.

"This acquisition advances ADM's strategy to expand the size and global reach of our operations and increases our presence in the growing Indian market," said Brent Fenton, president, ADM Europe. "ADM will integrate these operations into our global supply chain, strengthening our oilseeds processing activities in India and further enhancing ADM's leadership in global agricultural processing."

ADM has also established a new Indian headquarters office in Gurgaon, near New Delhi in the northern state of Haryana. This office will oversee ADM's operations in India and will manage sales, purchasing and administrative work in the country.

The new processing facilities complement the company's recent purchase of the remaining interests in Tinna Oils, which is now wholly owned by ADM. The Tinna Oils acquisition includes a soy and sunflower seed processing plant in Latur, a soy and sunseed processing plant in Dharwad and a port warehouse in Visakhapatnam. Additionally, ADM purchased the soy processing assets of Madhur Agro located in Nagpur, earlier this year.

The facilities in Akola and Nagpur, both in the western state of Maharashtra, include soy crushing, refining and packaging capabilities, enabling ADM to produce vegetable oil and meal for food and animal feed markets. The two plants serve the domestic market for packaged oils and the export market for soy meal. Additionally, the site in Akola contains a palm oil refinery and warehouses for raw and processed materials.

The Kota site, located in the north-western state of Rajasthan, includes soy and rapeseed crushing, refining and packaging facility. This location gives ADM access to the growing domestic Indian rape oil market as well as the rape meal export market. The plant's soy processing capabilities enable ADM to supply soy oil directly to the north Indian market.

"These new assets support ADM's expansion of our oilseeds origination network in Central Asia, which is a region of great interest to our business," said Kevin Eikerman, managing director, ADM Oilseeds India. "The close proximity of suppliers and customers, coupled with ADM's global reach and export capabilities, will open excellent market opportunities to connect local crops with global markets."