Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) today celebrates 25 years since the beginning of the privatization of its corn wet mill, located in Razgrad, Bulgaria. ADM will also mark its ongoing investments with the ground-breaking of a new facility expansion project, which will substantially increase the plant’s grind capacity and further expand ADM’s sweeteners and starches capabilities, both regionally and globally.

The privatization of the state-owned plant began in Spring 1993 as a joint venture between ADM and Belgian company Amylum, which was one of the first large-scale privatization deals done in Bulgaria at the time. In 2015, ADM acquired 100% of the shares and became the sole owner of the Razgrad plant, successfully integrating the plant into the company’s global carbohydrate solutions business following a significant multi-million-euro investment. Currently grinding corn and producing glucose, fructose and crystalline dextrose sweeteners, along with native and modified dry starches and co-products, ADM has become one of the largest food producers in Bulgaria and the biggest consumer of Bulgarian corn.

New investments will significantly increase the facility’s corn grind capacity, while also boosting production of finished products. This will allow ADM to respond to the anticipated increase in demand for starch based sweeteners following the end of sugar quotas in the European Union in September 2017. Most of the production output will be sold outside of Bulgaria, bringing a significant export benefit to the Bulgarian trade balance.

In addition, ADM is planning the construction of a new technical grade ethanol facility that will utilize a by-product of the sweetener plant, enhancing the mill’s sustainability credentials by reducing waste and improving energy consumption. This is an important step to demonstrate ADM’s continued commitment and efforts towards a sustainable and efficient agricultural supply chain.

“We are very optimistic about the future – our objective is to reinforce ADM Razgrad as a major grain processing plant in South East Europe and a leading European supplier of crystalline dextrose,” states Pierre Duprat, President of Europe, Middle East and Africa, and a member of the Executive Council at ADM. “Our expansion project represents an important investment to further develop Bulgarian agriculture and transformation industry. With the increase in our corn processing capacities, we are favorably positioning ourselves to handle rising crop production in the region.”

The project has received immense interest and support from local government officials and authorities, with ADM having recently been recognized as a thriving investor in the region and presented with a “Class A” certificate for the planned project. For the celebration ceremony, ADM has invited the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Ministers of Economy, Agriculture and Environment, the Mayor of Razgrad and officials from the US Embassy to participate in an on-site tour, where it will present the benefits that the new facility will bring to the local economy and ADM’s customers and prospects in the region.

Duprat continues: “We are grateful for the support received for the project. The development of the new plant is expected to create approximately 300 temporary and permanent positions, both directly in the plant and indirectly in the local economy.

“Throughout our 25-year-journey, people have always been our most important asset. We therefore consider their safety a top priority during any project. Having taken first place at the National Safety Awards of Bulgaria twice previously, we will continue to invest in our safety program and ensure the Razgrad plant remains a safe and desirable place to work.”

About ADM
For more than a century, the people of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) have transformed crops into products that serve the vital needs of a growing world. Today, we’re one of the world’s largest agricultural processors and food ingredient providers, with more than 31,000 employees serving customers in more than 170 countries. With a global value chain that includes 500 crop procurement locations, 270 ingredient manufacturing facilities, 44 innovation centers and the world’s premier crop transportation network, we connect the harvest to the home, making products for food, animal feed, industrial and energy uses.

Learn more at www.adm.com.

Media Relations

Aurelie Giles
media-eu@adm.com
+41 21 702 84 00