World Grain - July 2015 - 100

SUPPLIER NEWS

AGI completes acquisition of Westeel
WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, CANADA - Ag Growth International Inc. (AGI) announced on May 20 that it has completed its
acquisition of the Westeel division of Vicwest, Inc.
Headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Westeel is a
leading provider of grain storage solutions offering a wide range
of on-farm and commercial products for the agricultural industry.
"The strategic acquisition of Canada's leading brand in grain storage further establishes
AGI as a global leader in grain handling and
storage solutions," said Gary Anderson, AGI's
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share a deep commitment to product quality
and customer service and combined we create
a Canadian-based global agricultural leader
with a long history of serving the needs of our
Anderson
customers. Westeel's complementary product
offering expands our growth platform within North America and
around the world and we look forward with enthusiasm to bringing this outstanding company into the AGI family."

The aggregate purchase price for Westeel was C$221.5 million.
The purchase price includes net cash on closing of approximately
C$13 million and a redundant manufacturing plant with an estimated market value of C$4 million.

Westeel generated adjusted EBITDA of approximately C$20
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Vicwest's corporate support functions that were not transferred to
AGI as part of the Westeel acquisition) less incremental corporate
support costs AGI estimates will be required post-closing. For the
year ended Dec. 31, 2014, AGI generated adjusted EBITDA of
C$78 million, resulting in pro forma adjusted EBITDA for the
period of C$98 million.

Bühler rice contracts in Asia exceed $100 million
BANGKOK, THAILAND - The Bühler Group, a leader in rice
processing and optical sorting solutions, said on May 18 that it
has secured contracts in Southeast Asia totaling more than $100
million in the last two years.
The contracts have an emphasis on food safety, hygienic proGXFWLRQHQHUJ\HI¿FLHQF\DQGVXVWDLQDELOLW\
The company has been awarded major contracts by the largest
rice processors and reprocessors across Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia and Myanmar including
Merry Rice, Crystal Rice, Siam Parboiled, TPS Group, Capital
Rice, La Suerte, Phung Hoang, Kilang Beras Pek Choo Keok Sdn.
Bhd, Yoma Sun and Nine Seas. The total investment in rice processing plants and related equipment for these projects alone is
set to exceed $80 million.
Working with rice processors and reprocessors in the region,
Bühler said it offers and develops new market optimized rice
processing solutions that add value for its customers through imSURYHG\LHOGSHUIRUPDQFHDQGHI¿FLHQF\,WDOVRORRNVWRLQFUHDVH
awareness of food-safe rice mills to ensure hygienic and safe food
for consumers.
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growth in the region, with particular success gained in Thailand.
This marked a record period, partly thanks to a smaller number
of larger contracts, including the company's largest ever contract
for rice processing for Merry Rice, globally valued at over $40
million. The contract for 62 of Bühler's SORTEX S UltraVision
machines and 52 high-capacity UltraPoly polishers will result in
the world's largest rice mill, capable of sorting over 10,000 tonnes
of rice per day, Bühler said.
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mill in Vietnam for Phung Hoang, capable of processing 400
tonnes a day; a complete paddy processing plant in Malaysia for
Kilang Beras Pek Choo Keok Sdn. Bhd; and two complete paddy
100

processing plants in Myanmar for Nine Seas and Yoma Sun. Crystal Rice in Cambodia has also started production and Siam Parboiled in Thailand is in the advanced stages of installation.
"Over the past two years we've consciously changed the way
we do business across Souteast Asia," said Mark Ledson, managing director of Bühler Thailand. "We've dedicated time to listen
to our customers' needs and demonstrate our ability to offer a
truly complete engineered solution that is supported by our commitment to Service Excellence."
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Bühler's reach across Southeast Asia including the new SORTEX
S UltraVision optical sorting machine.
In addition to the launch of the SORTEX S UltraVision optical
sorting machine, Bühler teams across Southeast Asia have also
been actively promoting food safety as a key concept. With both
consumer and customer interest in food safety on the rise, particularly with budding exporters, Bühler said it is in a prime position
to offer end-to-end solutions that guarantee hygienic performance
and food safety, including process engineering solutions for rice,
solutions for pre-cleaning, silos, drying, rice milling and automated bagging.
Moving forward, Bühler will continue to extend its reach and
presence in the region by completing existing projects and securLQJQHZRQHV,WKDVGHYHORSHGDIXOOÀHGJHGIDFWRU\LQ9LHWQDP
and has built an accessory workshop in Indonesia. All this demonstrates Bühler's commitment to its customers across the region,
the company said. It is also actively building its channels for
single machine sales and is establishing country-focused technology teams in most of the countries in Southeast Asia. Developing
markets such as Cambodia and Myanmar will also present new
opportunities to deliver smaller capacity rice mills, demonstrating Bühler's ability to cater to the complete spectrum of rice mills
across the region.
July 2015 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com
http://www.World-Grain.com
World Grain - July 2015

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