Archer Daniels Midland Company and Alfred C. Toepfer International G.m.b.H. announced an agreement to combine their respective ocean freight groups into one global operation. The new organization will bring together the individual strengths and business knowledge of each company to create one of the industry’s largest agricultural bulk commodities ocean freight operations, as well as a leading force in the bunker and freight derivatives marketplace.

 “By combining ADM and Toepfer’s ocean freight teams, we will leverage the resources, best practices and know-how of the two companies to build a more efficient, more competitive ocean freight business,” said Hans Christian Jensen, director of ADM’s Global Freight business. Jensen will lead the new organization.

“By capitalizing on the already-strong global networks of both companies, the combined operation will increase the scope of our activities in terms of both volume and geography, enabling ADM and Toepfer, together, to advance our leadership in the industry,” said Domingo Lastra, chairman of the Management Board of Toepfer.

30,000 ADM employees around the globe convert oilseeds, corn, wheat and cocoa into products for food, animal feed, industrial and energy uses. With more than 265 processing plants, 460 crop procurement facilities, and the world’s premier crop transportation network, ADM helps connect the harvest to the home in more than 140 countries. 

Founded in 1919, Alfred C. Toepfer International G.m.b.H. is a global merchandising company. Toepfer is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, with 38 branch offices around the world. More than 2,000 employees trade more than 54 million tons of commodities annually. Archer Daniels Midland Company originally invested in Toepfer in 1983, and today owns 80 percent of the company, with the remaining 20 percent owned by French farming cooperative Union InVivo.