ADM (company)

In 1902, John W. Daniels started a linseed crushing business in Minneapolis, Minnesota.[3][4][5] George A. Archer joined the operation the next year, and in 1905 the firm's name officially became the Archer-Daniels Linseed Company.[3][6] In 1923, Archer-Daniels Linseed Company acquired Midland Linseed Products Company and then incorporated as the Archer Daniels Midland Company.[7][8] The new corporation had total assets exceeding $11 million and controlled just over a third (35%) of the total linseed mill capacity within the United States.[9][7]

In 1924, ADM was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.[10][11][12] A series of acquisitions over the next several years expanded the company's oil processing capabilities and agricultural operations, and a grain division was established in 1927.[13][14] In 1930, ADM purchased control of the flour milling company Commander-Larabee Corp., which was capable of producing 32,000 barrels of flour per day.[15][16][17] In 1934 the company began operating its first continuous solvent extraction plant in Chicago, Illinois and could now produce soybean oil.[14][18] The rapid development of similar extraction plants soon followed.[18]

By 1952, Archer Daniel Midland's workforce had expanded to 5,000 employees,[19] and by 1952 the company was operating overseas and manufacturing over 700 products.[20]

In 1962, the company acquired a trademark for "ADM" and began referring to itself by those initials.[21] In 1965, ADM registered the original patent for textured vegetable protein and began producing the soy flour product at its Decatur East Plant by 1966.[22][23]

In 1966, Dwayne Andreas and his brother Lowell Andreas became minority shareholders in ADM.[24] In 1969, ADM relocated its headquarters from Minneapolis to Decatur, Illinois, a location closer to the company's soybean processing operations.[25][26]

Dwayne Andreas was named CEO of ADM in 1970,[4] and two years later was elected chairman of the company's board.[27] Under his leadership, Archer Daniels Midland acquired many smaller agricultural companies and expanded into international markets,[28] eventually becoming one of the world's largest agricultural processing companies.[4][29] During this period, the company's soybean exports increased from $1.5 billion to $7 billion.[4][30]

In 1974, ADM made its first expansion into Europe and South America when the company acquired soybean plants in Holland and Brazil.[31][8]

In 1982, ADM established international grain operations when it purchased a portion of Toepfer International, a Germany-based grain trading firm.[32]

In 1989, ADM purchased Collingwood Grain Inc. based in Hutchinson Kansas, adding 48 million bushels of grain storage at 36 terminal elevators.[33] In 2001, Paul B. Mulhollem became the company's president.[34] ADM was the first U.S. company to sign a contract with Cuba since the embargo against Cuba was imposed in October 1960.[35] Dwayne Andreas stepped down from his position as CEO in 1997 and was succeeded by his nephew G. Allen Andreas.[36] The transition occurred a year after the company pleaded guilty to price-fixing.[29][28]

In May 2006, Patricia A. Woertz became the company's chief executive officer.[37][38] In February 2007, Woertz was elected chairman of the board at ADM.[39]

In 2012, the company sought to acquire strategic holdings to support serving Asian markets through the acquisition of GrainCorp, an Australian grain firm with a network of storage and port facilities in Australia.[38] On November 29, 2013, this acquisition was blocked by the Australian Treasurer.

The company moved its headquarters to Chicago in 2014.[40]

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.[41]

The appointment of current CEO Juan R. Luciano was announced on November 5, 2014.[42] 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.[43]

In October 2015, ADM announced the sale of its global cocoa business to Olam International. The sale was valued at about $1.2 billion.[44] Approximately 1,500 employees transferred to Olam with the sale.[45] In January 2017, ADM agreed to sell its crop risk services (insurance) unit to Validus Holdings for $127.5 million.[46]

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 acquisition, since May 2017.[47] In 2018 ADM agreed to purchase the British probiotic supplement company Probiotics International Limited for $243 million.[48] In 2019, ADM agreed to purchase the remaining 50 percent stake in British grain and oilseed producer Gleadell from the French company InVivo,[49] and completed the acquisition of animal nutrition company Neovia for €1.54 billion (US$1.73 billion).[50][51] In 2022, ADM saw rising profits due to the war in Ukraine and the global food crisis.[52][53][54]

ADM reported Total CO₂e emissions (Direct + Indirect) for the twelve months ending 31 December 2020 at 16,230 Kt (-1,570 /-8.8% y-o-y).[57] ADM plans to reduce emissions 25% by 2035 from a 2019 base year.[58]

ADM began underground CO₂ storage under Mount Simon Sandstone in 2017.[62]

ADM has been storing over a million tons of CO₂ under its own facility and as of 2023, is in the process of developing a pipeline to store more CO₂ underneath Decatur, Illinois. ADM is working with Richland Community College to develop two associates degree programs in carbon capture.[63]

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.[69]

The first quarter of 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, saw the operating profit of Ag Services and Oilseeds (ADM's biggest revenue segment) rise $422 million, or 1.2%.[70]

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.[69] In 2021, ADM was ranked second on the Top 50 Global Sweetener Companies list by FoodTalks.[71]

ADM mix plant

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.[69]

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.[69]

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.[72]

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.[73] 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.[74] The Informant is a nonfiction thriller book based on this event, which was later adapted into the 2009 film The Informant!.[75]

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.[76] According to the country's revenue and customs service, the outstanding taxes amounted to almost US$1 billion.[77] 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.[78] 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[79])."[80]

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. Alfred C. Toepfer International Ukraine Ltd. (ACTI Ukraine), plead guilty in the Central District of Illinois to one count of conspiracy in violation of the anti-bribery sections of the FCPA. They agreed to pay $17.8 million in fines. The Department of Justice also entered into a non-prosecution agreement with ADM due to the company's failure to implement a system of internal financial controls, addressing improper payments both in Ukraine and by an ADM joint venture in Venezuela. ADM agreed to pay more than $36 million to settle the SEC's charges, bringing the total amount paid to over $54 million.[81][82]

The Swiss NGO Public Eye elaborated the case.[83][84]

In 2021, an investigation by the Washington Post found that ADM had sold land to incoming Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue in 2017 at a fraction of its estimated value. Ethics lawyers had legal and ethical concerns about the sale, questioning whether it amounted to bribery. According to the Post, ADM "sold the land at a small fraction of its estimated value just as it stood to benefit from a friendly secretary of agriculture."[85]