Assembling a Global Puzzle As children, many of us learned about U.S. and world geography hands-on through jigsaw puzzles. Each time a distinctive shape slipped perfectly into its slot, we understood more about how things fi t together and got one step closer to seeing the big picture. That’s very much what CHS has done over the past 13 years as we’ve established and continued to build our global footprint. With each new business operation added to our world map, we’ve strengthened our supply chain and connections between U.S. producers and global consumers. We’ve also gained invaluable risk management and market insights, which are essential as we prepare to feed a world that will grow hungrier and more populous over the next 35 years. But unlike a puzzle, selecting the right pieces for the right spaces is serious business for CHS. Whether we are considering entering a new country, making an acquisition or building assets, we ask three key questions: • Does this extend the value chain for farmers? • Does this help farmers grow? • Does this make CHS more relevant for our owners and customers? Carl Casale, president and CEO, CHS Adding Infrastructure Our global puzzle goes beyond geography. We continue to invest in local origination infrastructure, including inland facilities in Brazil, and with strategic export capacity such as the recently announced joint venture at Necochea, Argentina. From our initial focus on grain, we’ve added global fertilizer, renewable fuels marketing, and value-added processing for soy protein food ingredients and sunfl ower products. As we gained new global pieces of our puzzle, we have invested in our core North American operations. Over the past two years, we’ve acquired an agronomic presence in Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada, and opened a Canadian grain marketing offi ce in Winnipeg and an agronomy team member in Calgary. We’ve also invested in interior U.S. origination and export terminals to move the grain our owners raise to global markets. It’s a focused, deliberate process, but as each piece fi nds its space, the picture is clear: a world of global opportunity and value for CHS owners. Filling Out the Map Like many puzzle strategists, we started our global growth by positioning the big pieces inside the essential framework of U.S. farmer-owner grain origination. Then we added the major global components of grain offi ces in South America, Europe and Asia. We’ve continued fi lling out our global map over the past decade. Next to bigger pieces like Brazil and Argentina, we’ve connected adjacent countries, including Paraguay and Uruguay. Our European grain origination began in the eastern Black Sea region. Two years ago, an acquisition in four countries along the Danube River completed the western Black Sea portion of our puzzle. You will learn more about this region and its strategic importance to CHS in this issue of C . We’ve expanded our Asian grain marketing presence in the same way, beginning with offi ces in China and then establishing headquarters in Singapore and gaining a presence in South Korea and Taiwan. We’ve fi lled out the region with key joint ventures in wheat origination in Australia and as a supply partner in Japan. We positioned big pieces inside the essential framework of U.S. farmer-owner grain origination. Your CHS Connection 5
Issue Articles
Assembling a Global Puzzle
Carl Casale
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