The Andersons' Maumee nutrient plant is one of several throughout the US. The Andersons is a leading formulator and distributor of plant nutrient products. Photo: The Andersons, Inc.
BIG AUBURN DEAL: Maumee, Ohio, Firm, Andersons, Buys Auburn Bean & Grain
Nation's Largest Industrial Partnership Moves Into Bay County
October 14, 2014
By: Dave Rogers
Big Ag has come to Bay County!
In spades!
The Andersons, Inc. (Nasdaq: ANDE) of Maumee, Ohio, recently announced its purchase of Auburn Bean and Grain of Auburn, Michigan.
The purchase includes six grain and four agronomy assets of the company located throughout north central Michigan.
The Fortune 500 company posted a profit of $89.9 million in 2013 on revenues of $5.6 billion.
The agribusiness deals primarily in grain sales and purchases but also leases and repairs rail cars, produces ethanol, and operates retail stores.
With the Auburn addition, the Andersons will have close to 500 employees.
"This acquisition provides an increase in our storage capacity and volume for both our grain and nutrient businesses, and it also represents a nice geographic fit between our other Michigan assets and our Thompsons joint venture in Ontario," says CEO Mike Anderson.
"As a family-owned business with a history of nearly 100 years Auburn Bean and Grain is an excellent cultural fit, especially with our similar philosophies in providing exceptional customer service."
Clifford Vennix, Chairman and CEO of Auburn Bean and Grain, adds, "We believe The Andersons is best suited to continue our legacy of service and excellence into the future. We know they will bring added opportunity to our customers and employees."
With this transaction, The Andersons will acquire a total of six grain and four agronomy assets, with a combined grain storage capacity of about 18.1 million bushels, 16,000 tons of dry and 3.7 million gallons of liquid nutrient capacity and more than 80 employees. The facilities have multiple rail interchange agreements in place with all of the eastern Class I railroads CSX, NS and CN.
"Through this acquisition we will increase the storage capacity of our Grain Group by about 13 percent and further enhance our presence in one of our core states, Michigan," says Anderson.
The Andersons, Inc. is a diversified company rooted in agriculture. Founded in Maumee, Ohio, in 1947, by Harold Anderson (1894-1968), the company conducts business across North America in the grain, ethanol, and plant nutrient sectors, railcar leasing, turf and cob products, and consumer retailing.
A native of Webster Grove, Missouri, Harold Anderson grew up in Toledo, was a veteran of World War I in which he served as a flying instructor and was a 1916 graduate of the University of Wisconsin College of Agriculture.
The Andersons, Inc., has since expanded into what is reputed to be the "largest industrial partnership in the United States," with a network of thirteen similar facilities across the country's eastern Corn Belt.
Their facilities are at Champaign, Illinois; Delphi, Dunkirk/Redkey and Frankfort, Indiana; Albion, Potterville, Webberville and White Pigeon, Michigan; as well as Findlay, Maumee, Metamora and Toledo, Ohio).
The firm's diverse "Agribusiness" includes grain exporting, grain marketing, fertilizer blending and distribution, agricultural products distribution, retail mass merchandising, lawn fertilizer production and marketing and cob milling.
The Andersons has claimed to be the largest processor of finished corncob products in the world.
Archives of The Andersons are held in the University of Toledo.
For more information, visit The Andersons online at www.andersonsinc.com.
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