Bulgaria
 
SILISTRA, BULGARIA— Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) opened its recently completed Port ADM Silistra silo, located on the Danube River in Silistra, Bulgaria.

The 20,000-tonne capacity facility will be used to store, condition and transport bulk commodities. It has been built on the Danube River, close to the village Aydemir, to accommodate the strong agricultural production of the region, ADM said.

Port ADM Silistra will add incremental volumes to Black Sea exports, contributing to economic growth by giving local farmers access to transportation networks that connect Eastern Europe to lucrative markets worldwide, ADM said. Additionally, the development of the silo has created new jobs in the local area, meaning a greater capacity to support trading and logistic operations in Bulgaria and Romania.

“At ADM, we offer flexible and efficient transportation to customers globally,” said Ivaylo Georgiev, chief commercial manager, ADM Bulgaria Trading. “With expansions such as Port ADM Silistra, ADM will be well-positioned to meet rising customer demand across the region and simultaneously help local farmers to grow their businesses and broaden their horizons.”

The project was completed with the support of Silistra’s municipality and the Invest Bulgaria agency. In celebration of opening, ADM has invited farmers and traders, partners and officials to participate in an on-site tour, where it will present the benefits that the new facility will bring to ADM’s customers and prospects in the region.

The facility is the latest in a series of new projects, acquisitions and partnerships for ADM. In mid-June, the company entered into a strategic collaboration with Austria-based Anco Animal Nutrition Competence GmbH to provide Anco’s line of specialty feed ingredients to ADM Animal Nutrition customers.

ADM’s subsidiary Golden Peanut and Tree Nuts is investing in its third expansion project at the company’s production facility in Blakely, Georgia, U.S. This newest expansion project will increase the plant capacity and add new technology for quality control as well as cool storage to preserve quality for the finished products at the facility.

On June 2, ADM announced it is constructing a new flour mill in Mendota, Illinois, U.S. The high-capacity, modern facility will allow the company to continue to meet growing demand for flour throughout the Midwest.

In May, ADM finished a series of expansions at its export terminal in Santos, in the Brazilian state of São Paulo.  The project added a second ship loading line and a fourth truck unloading station, allowing for more efficient operations.

Also in May, the company reached an agreement to purchase a controlling interest in Industries Centers, an Israeli company specializing in the import and distribution of agricultural feed products. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval in Israel. ADM anticipates completing the deal in the coming months.

In late March, the company began talks to acquire Chamtor, a French producer of wheat-based sweeteners and starches. The transaction is expected to close by this summer.

The company also has been focusing on its pet food and animal nutrition services in the past few months. In mid-January, ADM signed an agreement to acquire Crosswind Industries, Inc., a Kansas, U.S.-based producer of dry-expanded, dual-texture, semi-dry and semi-moist treat products for pets.