Richardson to buy North American durum miller Italgrani USA

Canadian agribusiness Richardson International has agreed to acquire Italgrani USA, which claims to be the single largest durum flour miller in North America, from Progetto Grano.

The purchase agreement was made by its subsidiary Richardson Oilseed (US) Holdings and forms part of its strategy to expand and diversify its processing operations.

The transaction includes a milling facility in St. Louis, Missouri, that specialises in semolina and durum flour products; as well as three storage and crop inputs facilities in North Dakota. Richardson will also acquire Italgrani’s commodity trading office in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Upon completion of the deal, Richardson will retain the current workforce of Italgrani USA.

“This acquisition is fully aligned with our long-term strategic goals of diversification, geographic expansion, and an increased presence in food processing – having gone from canola to oats and now to durum processing,” said Curt Vossen, president and CEO of Richardson International.

He added: “The significant scale of processing capability of the Italgrani plant, combined with origination opportunities and crop inputs retail facilities, all included in this transaction, will further enhance the services we will be able to offer to our producer customers, both in Canada and the US.”

The agreement –  which was made for an undisclosed sum – will close immediately following receipt of all required regulatory approvals.

“The Italgrani team is pleased to be joining the Richardson International family of companies and looks forward to working together to further grow and expand the Italgrani USA business footprint,” said James Meyer, Italgrani USA president.

“Our two companies are well aligned in that we are both focused on customer service, innovative solutions, and being good stewards of resources.”

Earlier this year, Richardson announced investments to boost the processing capacity of its oat mill in Bedford, UK, and to double the processing capacity of its canola crush plant in Yorkton, Canada.