World Grain - March 2018 - 49

The Andersons' grain, ethanol divisions seeking to diversify amid difficult market conditions
by Arvin Donley

hat began more than 70 years ago as a single
grain elevator and one man's dream to run
a successful business has blossomed into a
company that brings in several billion dollars in annual
revenue and employs nearly 2,000 people.
Certainly in 1947, when construction began on a
500,000-bushel storage facility in Maumee, Ohio,
Harold Anderson probably couldn't have envisioned the
company he founded, today known as The Andersons,
growing its grain-handling assets to 36 facilities with
roughly 150 million bushels of storage capacity in seven U.S. states and Saskatchewan, Canada.
A publicly traded company since 1996, The Andersons
has four business groups: Grain, Ethanol, Plant Nutrient
and Rail. The grain business, which long has been the
cornerstone of the company, and the ethanol business,
which the company added in 2005, have played a central
role in making The Andersons one of the most successful agribusiness companies in the United States.
In a recent interview with World Grain, Corbett J.
Jorgenson, president of the Grain Group, and Michael
S. Irmen, president of the Ethanol Group, offered insights on their respective business units and the many
challenges they face operating in the current global
grain and biofuels markets.
Jorgenson, who replaced Neill McKinstray as president of the Grain Group in February 2016, came from
Cargill where he worked for 20 years in multiple
An aerial view of The Andersons' grain storage facility in Maumee,
Ohio, U.S. The Andersons' overall grain storage capacity of 146 million bushels ranked ninth in North America in 2017, according to
Sosland Publishing Company's 2018 Grain & Milling Annual.
Photos courtesy of The Andersons.
www.World-Grain.com / World Grain / March 2018

trading and management roles, including six years
as vice-president and late senior vice-president for
Cargill AgHorizons.
Like many other grain divisions of major agribusiness companies, The Andersons' Grain Group has
struggled recently in the face of a prolonged period
of low grain prices due to oversupply after four conVHFXWLYHEXPSHUKDUYHVWVWKDWÀRRGHGWKHPDUNHWHYHQ
though demand for grain continues to rise globally.
In 2016, the division posted $11 million in adjusted
earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, well below the $72 million it took in in 2013. Through
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Jorgenson said one of the long-term goals for the
grain division is to diversify so that it can better endure
the peaks and valleys of the grain market. He said the
company wants to expand its capabilities in handling
and services for specialty grains and food ingredients.
"It is an important long-term goal because we view it as
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the physical capabilities and the people to do a lot more
than we do today," he told World Grain. "We especially
think our size and geographic structure makes us an ideal
partner to both the producers of specialty grains and food
crops, and the food companies seeking those inputs."
The Andersons already has addressed this issue with
the acquisition of Purity Foods, Inc., an organic and
conventional ancient grains processor based in Hudson,
Michigan, U.S., in April 2017.
³3XULW\ )RRGV LV DQ LGHDO ¿W IRU 7KH$QGHUVRQV EHcause it connects growers of specialty ancient grain
(spelt) to its users, and it adds value through simple milling," Jorgenson said. "Its presence in southern Michigan
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49

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World Grain - March 2018

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