ADM (company)

The Archer-Daniels-Midland Company, commonly known as ADM, is an American multinational food processing and commodities trading corporation founded in 1902 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.[3][4][5] The company operates more than 270 plants and 420 crop procurement facilities worldwide, where cereal grains and oilseeds are processed into products used in food, beverage, nutraceutical, industrial, and animal feed markets worldwide.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company
ADM
TypePublic
IndustryFood processing
Commodities
FoundedMinneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
1902 (1902)
FoundersGeorge A. Archer
John W. Daniels
Headquarters77 West Wacker Drive
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Key people
Juan Luciano
(chairman and CEO)
ProductsCorn Syrup,
High fructose corn syrup,
Feed,
Ethanol,
Bioenergy
Food
Revenue US$64.656 billion (FY2019)[1]
US$1.372 billion (FY2019)[1]
US$1.279 billion (2016)[2]
Total assets US$43.997 billion (FY2019)[1]
Total equity US$19.208 billion (FY2019)[1]
Number of employees
38,100 (August 2020)[1]
Websiteadm.com

ADM ranked No. 54 in the 2020 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations.[1]

The company also provides agricultural storage and transportation services. The American River Transportation Company along with ADM Trucking, Inc., are subsidiaries of ADM.

Products

Products include oils and meal from soybeans, cottonseed, sunflower seeds, canola, peanuts, flaxseed, Palm kernel and DAG oil, as well as corn germ, corn gluten feed pellets, syrup, starch, glucose, dextrose, crystalline dextrose, high fructose corn syrup sweeteners, chocolate, ethanol, and wheat flour. End uses are consumption by people, livestock, and additives for fuel. Natural flavors were added to ADM's product portfolio with the 2014 acquisition of Wild Flavors.[6]

Long known as a food and ingredients company, it has also invested in fuel production. ADM nearly doubled capital spending in its 2007 budget to an estimated $1.12 billion. The increase is planned for bioenergy projects, focusing on bioethanol and biodiesel.[7]

Oilseeds processing

The Oilseeds Processing segment includes global activities related to the origination, merchandising, crushing, and further processing of oilseeds such as soybeans and soft seeds (cottonseed, sunflower seed, canola, and flaxseed) into vegetable oils and protein meals.[8]

The first quarter of 2020, during the Pandemic, saw operating profit of Ag Services and Oilseeds (ADM's biggest revenue segment) rise $422 million or 1.2%.[9]

Corn processing

ADM's Corn Processing segment is engaged in corn wet milling and dry milling activities, with its asset base primarily located in the central part of the United States. The Corn Processing segment converts corn into sweeteners and starches, and bioproducts. Its products include ingredients used in the food and beverage industry including sweeteners, starch, syrup, glucose (dextrose). Dextrose and starch are used by the Corn Processing segment as feedstocks for its bioproducts operations.[8]

Agricultural services

ADM's Agricultural Services segment uses its U.S. grain elevator, global transportation network, and port operations to buy, store, clean, and transport agricultural commodities, such as oilseeds, corn, wheat, milo, oats, rice, and barley, and resells these commodities primarily as food and feed ingredients and as raw materials for the agricultural processing industry.[8]

Investor services

ADM Investor Services, Inc. is a registered futures commission merchant and a clearing member of all principal commodities exchanges in the U.S. ADM Investor Services International, Ltd., a member of commodity exchanges and clearing houses in Europe, and ADMIS Hong Kong Limited, offer broker services in Europe and Asia.[8]

Insurance services

ADM's captive insurance services, which include Agrinational Insurance Company (Agrinational), provides insurance coverage for certain property, casualty, marine, credit, and other miscellaneous risks of the Company and participates in certain third-party reinsurance arrangements.

History

In 1902, George A. Archer and John W. Daniels began a linseed crushing business in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1923, Archer-Daniels Linseed Company acquired Midland Linseed Products Company, and the Archer Daniels Midland Company was formed. ADM expanded its agribusiness to include milling, processing, specialty food ingredients, and cocoa.[10]

Chief Executive Officers
StartedName
1970Dwayne Andreas
1997G. Allen Andreas
2006Patricia A. Woertz
2015Juan Luciano

In 1970, Dwayne Andreas became the chief executive officer of ADM, and is credited with transforming the firm into an industrial powerhouse. Andreas remained CEO until 1997 before his nephew G. Allen Andreas was named to this position.[11][12]

In 2001, Paul B. Mulhollem became the company's president.[13] Under his guidance, the company was the first U.S. company to sign a contract with Cuba since the embargo against Cuba was imposed October 1960.[14]

In May 2006, Patricia A. Woertz became the company's chief executive officer.[15][16] Formerly of Chevron, she was expected to focus on developing ethanol and biofuels. In February 2007, Woertz was elected chairman of the board at ADM.[17]

In January 2008, ADM signed a three-year memorandum of understanding with Daimler AG and Bayer CropScience to explore the use of jatropha as a feedstock for biofuel.[18][19]

Starting in October 2012, the company sought to acquire strategic holdings to support serving Asian markets through acquisition of GrainCorp, an Australian grain firm with a network of storage and port facilities in Australia.[16] On 29 Nov 2013, this acquisition was blocked by the Australian Treasurer.

On July 7, 2014, the company announced that it would buy Swiss-German natural ingredient company Wild Flavors for $3 billion, a move aimed at diversifying the company and helping brands appeal to consumers who increasingly favor foods with natural ingredients and flavorings.[20]

Appointment of current CEO Juan R. Luciano was announced on November 5, 2014.[21] Luciano joined the company in 2011 as executive vice president and chief operating officer, and became president in February 2014. He succeeded Patricia Woertz as CEO in January 2015, and as chairman of the board in January 2016.[22]

In October 2015, ADM announced the sale of its global cocoa business to Olam International. The sale is valued at about $1.2 billion.[23] Approximately 1,500 employees transferred to Olam with the sale.[24]

In January 2017, Archer Daniels Midland agreed to sell its crop risk services (insurance) unit to Validus Holdings for $127.5 million.[25] On January 19, 2018, it was reported that Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) had approached Bunge Ltd. about a takeover, with details "unclear." At that point, Bunge had a market value of about $9.8 billion, and was also being pursued by Glencore PLC for an acquisition, since May 2017.[26]

Board of Directors

As of 8/16/20:[27]

  • Juan R. Luciano, chairman, president, and CEO of ADM
  • Michael S. Burke, chairman and CEO of AECOM
  • Terrell Crews, former CFO of Monsanto
  • Pierre Dufour, former president and CEO of Air Liquide USA
  • Donald Felsinger, former chairman and CEO of Sempra Energy
  • Suzan Harrison, former Colgate-Palmolive executive
  • Patrick Moore, president and CEO of PJM Advisors
  • Francisco Sanchez, chairman and CEO of CSN Global Consulting
  • Debra Sandler, president and CEO of LaGrenade
  • Lei Zhang Schlitz, ITW executive
  • Kelvin Westbrook, president and CEO of KRW Advisors

Reception

It was named the world's most-admired food-production company by Fortune magazine for three consecutive years: 2009, 2010 and 2011.[28]

Sherman Antitrust Law Violation

In 1920 the US Department of Justice brought suit against the National Linseed Oil Trust for violating the Sherman Antitrust Act. Several co-defendants were named, including the Archer-Daniels Manufacturing Company. The suit alleged all of these companies were acting in collusion to raise prices, citing a spike in linseed oil costs between 1916 and 1918, when the price rose from $.50 per gallon to $1.80.[29]

Price fixing
See also: Lysine price-fixing conspiracy

In 1993, the company was the subject of a lysine price-fixing investigation by the U.S. Justice Department. Senior ADM executives were indicted on criminal charges for engaging in price-fixing within the international lysine market. Three of ADM's top officials, including vice chairman Michael Andreas were eventually sentenced to federal prison in 1999. Moreover, in 1997, the company was fined $100 million, the largest antitrust fine in U.S. history at the time.[30] Mark Whitacre, FBI informant and whistleblower of the lysine price-fixing conspiracy, would also find himself in legal trouble for embezzling money from ADM during his time as an informant for the FBI. In addition, according to ADM's 2005 annual report, a settlement was reached under which ADM paid $400 million in 2005 to settle a class action antitrust suit.[31]

The Informant is a nonfiction thriller book [32] that documents the mid-1990s lysine price-fixing conspiracy case and the involvement of ADM executive Mark Whitacre. The book was adapted into the 2009 film The Informant!. This case has also been featured on episode 168 of This American Life called The Fix Is In.

Tax dodging

A noteworthy case of transfer mispricing came to light in 2011 in Argentina involving the world's four largest grain traders: ADM, Bunge, Cargill and LDC. Argentina's revenue and customs service began an investigation into the four companies when prices for agricultural commodities spiked in 2008 and yet very little profit for the four companies had been reported to the office. As a result of the investigation, it was alleged that the companies had submitted false declarations of sales and routed profits through tax havens or through their headquarters. In some cases, they were said to have used phantom firms to buy grain and had inflated costs in Argentina in order to reduce the recorded profits earned in the country.[33] According to the country's revenue and customs service, the outstanding taxes amounted to almost US$1 billion.[34] The companies involved have denied the allegations. To date, the Argentinian tax authorities have not replied to the Swiss NGO Public Eye’s request regarding the current state of the case.[35] In its 2018 annual report to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Bunge mentioned provisions which suggest that the case is still ongoing: "[A]s of December 31, 2018, Bunge's Argentine subsidiary had received income tax assessments relating to 2006 through 2009 of approximately 1,276 million Argentine pesos (approximately $34 million), plus applicable interest on the outstanding amount of approximately 4,246 million Argentine pesos (approximately $113 million[36])."[37]

Corruption

The Swiss NGO Public Eye has recently elaborated on a corruption case involving grain giant ADM.[38] An ADM subsidiary pleaded guilty and agreed to pay criminal fines in excess of USD 17 million in 2013 to resolve charges that it had paid bribes, via vendors, to Ukrainian government officials in order to obtain value-added tax refunds.[39] In a parallel action, the grain trader consented to a judgment that ordered ADM to pay close to US$37 million in "disgorgement and pre-judgement interest", which brought the total amount of penalties to more than US$54 million.[39]

Violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

On December 20, 2013, the SEC announced that it had charged ADM for failing to prevent illicit payments (bribes) made by its foreign subsidiaries to Ukrainian government officials in violation of the FCPA. ADM agreed to pay more than $36 million to settle the SEC's charges.[40]

Environmental record
See also: Gran Chaco § Conservation issues

The company has been the subject of several major federal lawsuits related to air pollution. In 2001, it agreed to pay a $1.46 million fine for violating federal and Illinois clean-air regulations at its Decatur feed plant and to spend $1.6 million to reduce air pollution there.[41] In 2003, the company settled federal air pollution complaints related to its efforts to avoid New Source Review provisions of the Clean Air Act that require pollution control upgrades when a plant is modernized. The company paid $4.5 million in penalties and more than $6 million to support environmental projects. In addition, ADM agreed to eliminate more than 60,000 tons of emissions of carbon monoxide, particulate matter, volatile organic compounds, and other pollutants from 42 plants in 17 states, at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars.[42]

In an attempt to reduce its carbon footprint, the company has partnered with the Midwest Geological Sequestration Association and other organizations to test the disposal of carbon dioxide emissions underground. If testing is successful, beginning in late 2010 the company expected to dispose of 1,000 metric tons per day of carbon dioxide emissions currently being released to the atmosphere.[43]

Agricultural subsidies

The company lobbies for agricultural subsidies and price supports including sugar and ethanol. According to a 1995 report by the libertarian think tank Cato Institute, "ADM has cost the American economy billions of dollars since 1980 and has indirectly cost Americans tens of billions of dollars in higher prices and higher taxes over that same period. At least 43 percent of ADM's annual profits are from products heavily subsidized or protected by the American government. Moreover, every $1 of profits earned by ADM's corn sweetener operation costs consumers $10, and every $1 of profits earned by its bioethanol operation costs taxpayers $30."[44]

See also

References
  1. "Archer Daniels Midland | 2020 Fortune 500". Fortune. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  2. "Archer Daniels Midland, Form 10-K, Annual Report, Filing Date Aug 27, 2012" (PDF). secdatabase.com. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
  3. "Corporate Headquarters Archived December 23, 2010, at the Wayback Machine." Archer Daniels Midland. Retrieved December 23, 2010. "Corporate Headquarters Archer Daniels Midland Company 4666 Faries Parkway Decatur, IL 62526 United States of America."
  4. "Zoning Map" Archived May 31, 2013, at the Wayback Machine (PDF). City of Decatur. March 17, 2008 Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  5. "Decatur city, Illinois Archived May 3, 2008, at the Wayback Machine." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  6. "Acquisition adds natural flavors to Archer Daniels Midland portfolio". Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  7. Fusaro, Dave (March 26, 2007). "ADM’s big bet on fuel". Food Processing . Retrieved June 6, 2007.
  8. "UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION : WASHINGTON, D. C. 20549 : FORM 10-K". Sec.gov. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  9. "ADM first-quarter profit beats estimates, as CEO cites 'many unknowns' of pandemic". CNBC. April 30, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  10. "History". ADM. August 17, 2007. Archived from the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  11. "Archer Daniels Midland, Form DEF 14A, Filing Date Sep 17, 1997". secdatabase.com. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
  12. "Dwayne Andreas", So You Want to Buy a President?, Frontline
  13. "Archer Daniels Midland, Form 10-K, Annual Report, Filing Date Sep 20, 2002". secdatabase.com. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
  14. Roney, Marty (undated). "Alabama Farmers Want to Export More to Cuba". USA Today (via ABC News). Retrieved July 24, 2013.
  15. "Archer Daniels Midland, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date May 1, 2006" (PDF). secdatabase.com. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
  16. Henshaw, Caroline; Berry, Ian (December 20, 2012). "ADM, Graincorp CEOs Square Off". The Wall Street Journal. p. B2.
  17. "Archer Daniels Midland, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Feb 6, 2007". secdatabase.com. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
  18. Reuters Staff (January 9, 2008). "Daimler, ADM, Bayer to test Jatropha for biodiesel". Reuters. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  19. Sims, Bryan (February 11, 2008). "ADM, Daimler, Bayer partner to explore jatropha". www.biodieselmagazine.com. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  20. "ADM buys ingredients company Wild Flavors for about $3 billion". Chicago Tribune. July 7, 2014.
  21. "Pat Woertz retiring; ADM names new CEO". Chicago Tribune. November 6, 2014.
  22. "Juan R. Luciano". Archer Daniel Midlands. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  23. Hunt, Sarah McFarlane, Nigel (October 16, 2015). "Olam completes acquisition of ADM's cocoa business". Reuters. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  24. "ADM Completes Sale of Global Cocoa Business". Adm.com. Archived from the original on November 20, 2015. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  25. https://www.reuters.com/article/deals-day-idUSL4N1FL1ZL Reuters Deals
  26. Bunge, Jacob; Mattioli, Dana (January 19, 2018). "ADM Has Made Takeover Approach to Bunge Ltd". The Wall Street Journal. The New York Times, New York City, United States. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
  27. https://investors.adm.com/governance/board-of-directors/default.aspx ADM Board
  28. Press release (March 3, 2011). "ADM Again Named World's Most Admired Food Production Company" Archived October 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Archer Daniels Midland. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
  29. "Sues to dissolve Trust", New York Times. July 1, 1920. Retrieved 7/26/2015.
  30. Hunter-Gault, Charlayne (October 15, 1996). "ADM: Who's Next?". MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour (PBS). Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved October 17, 2007.
  31. "Archer Daniels Midland Company. 2005 Annual Report". Adm.com. p. 52. Archived from the original on January 21, 2009. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  32. Webber, Susan (September 25, 2000). "Tale of the Tapes". The Daily Deal. Aurora Advisors, Inc. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved October 2, 2008.
  33. Lawrence, Felicity (June 1, 2011). "Argentina accuses world's largest grain traders of huge tax evasion". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  34. Bloomberg L.P. (March 25, 2013). "Grain exporters owe Argentina 951 million in taxes". Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  35. Public Eye (June 2019). "Agricultural Commodity Traders in Switzerland" (PDF). Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  36. Meredith, Sam (August 31, 2018). "Argentina's peso has now fallen 52% against the dollar this year". CNBC. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  37. "Bunge Ltd (BG) 10K Annual Reports & 10Q SEC Filings". Last10K. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  38. Public Eye (June 2019). "Agricultural Commodity Traders in Switzerland" (PDF). Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  39. "ADM Subsidiary Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act". www.justice.gov. December 20, 2013. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  40. "SEC Charges Archer-Daniels-Midland Company With FCPA Violations, Filing Date Dec 20, 2013". SEC. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  41. "Archer Daniels Fined Over Clean-Air Rules". Los Angeles Times. January 13, 2001.
  42. Lee, Jennifer 8. (April 9, 2003). "2 Companies Said to Agree to Settle Suits on Emission". The New York Times. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
  43. "Carbon-Sequestration Projects Put Innovative Emissions-Reduction Technology to the Test" Archived January 3, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Archer Daniels Midland. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  44. Bovard, James (September 26, 1995). "Archer Daniels Midland: A Case Study In Corporate Welfare" Archived July 11, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. Cato Policy Analysis No. 241. Cato Institute. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
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