Cargill Opens New Animal Feed Facility in Efremov, Russia

EFREMOV, Russia, June 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

Cargill has opened a new animal feed facility in Efremov, Russia. The facility has the capacity to produce 50,000 tonnes of swine and poultry feed products and will operate under the LNB® brand in Russia. The new operation forms part of Cargill's industrial complex in Efremov, some 330 km south of Moscow.

The new facility will be able to produce a wide range of LNB® products for the swine and poultry feed market, focusing on the production of prestarter and starter feed for chicken and baby pigs, and protein-vitamin-mineral concentrates.

It forms part of Cargill's unique cluster of operations at Efremov, which include corn and wheat sweeteners plants; a vegetable oil refinery and bottling facility; a malt plant and an animal feed mill.  A previously announced poultry processing plant is also in construction at present.

The opening ceremony was attended by Vyacheslav Dudka, the Governor of Tula region; Natalia Orlova, Head of Cargill in Russia and Luis Masroua,  General Manager of Cargill's animal nutrition business in the country.

Speaking at the event, Natalia Orlova said: "I am delighted that we are able to celebrate the opening of this animal feed facility, an extension to our animal feed mill which was built in 2009.  Since we acquired the Efremov site in 1994, we have continued to expand and upgrade operations. The overall investment in Efremov industrial site is about $400 million to date. This addition reinforces our commitment to both the economy of the Tula region and to primary processing in Russia."

"In recent years, we have seen a significant increase in meat consumption and meat production in Eastern Europe," noted Luis Masroua. "This investment will enable us to leverage our global expertise, technology and knowledge to support the growth of the local feed industry in Russia. Our main goal is to help Russian farmers use high quality feed to get the best results."

Notes for Editors

About Cargill

Cargill is an international producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products and services. Founded in 1865, the privately held company employs 131,000 people in 66 countries. Cargill helps customers succeed through collaboration and innovation, and is committed to applying its global knowledge and experience to help meet economic, environmental and social challenges wherever it does business. For more information, visit http://www.cargill.com. 

Cargill in Russia

Cargill began its activities in Russia in 1991 with the opening of a representative office in Moscow, although a prior trading relationship with Russian-based organizations dates back some 30 years.  Today, aside from the company's significant grain and oilseeds activity, a large number of other Cargill businesses operate in Russia, in locations including Voronezh, Efremov, Krasnodar and Rostov. The company employs over 1,500 people and is one of the most significant foreign investors in Russia with over US$700 million invested in the local agriculture and food industries.  Main activities in Russia include grain processing and trade; production, processing and packing of oils; starches, sweeteners and other ingredients production; an animal feed mill and consultations to specialists in the meat, confectionary and other food businesses. For more information, visit http://www.cargill.ru.

Cargill in Efremov

Cargill made its first investment in Efremov in 1994, when it acquired a starches and sweeteners plant.  Since that time, the company has invested more than US$50 million in upgrading the facility, which has become a significant supplier of corn syrup and starch in Russia.  Cargill has built a malt plant and an additional sweeteners plant at the same location, investments totalling more than US$400 million.  In 2007, a vegetable oil refinery and bottling plant were added to the Efremov complex.  These facilities produce a range of liquid vegetable oils and fats for the Russian market and supplies Russian own- label and foodservice customers.  An animal feed mill was added to the complex in 2009. In 2010 Cargill started the construction of poultry processing facility. Cargill currently employs more than 800 people in Efremov.  

Cargill Animal Nutrition

Cargill has a long history in the animal nutrition business, dating back to feed sales in 1884. Following the company's acquisition of Agribrands in 2001 - the largest feed acquisition in its history - Cargill now has animal feed operations in 25 countries worldwide. In November 2006, Cargill began construction of its first feed mill for pelleted cattle feed in Russia, at its existing site in Efremov. Production started in 2009 with the expected capacity of 250,000 metric tons of pelleted feed per year. To further develop the animal nutrition business worldwide, in 2007 Cargill acquired the LNB company in Netherlands - developer and producer of a wide range of feeding solutions for all kinds of animals. In 2009, Cargill continued to develop its animal nutrition business in Russia and began construction of the next plant in Efremov site.

CONTACT:      

Wendy Garbutt: +44-1932-861174
wendy_garbutt@cargill.com