ADM’s German operations include Europe’s largest oilseeds crushing and refinery complex – a large plant in Hamburg where rapeseed and soybeans are processed and refined for use in margarines and vegetable oils, bakery goods, frying applications, pharmaceutical glycerine and biodiesel fuel. ADM is a leading producer of biodiesel in Germany and in Europe. In addition to the Hamburg facility, we manufacture biodiesel at plants in the cities of Leer and Mainz. ADM has more than 1,000 employees in Germany.
In recent years, increasing global use of vegetable oils has led ADM to add capacity for seed crushing. Higher demand for rapeseed oil prompted ADM to expand crushing at our Hamburg plant. In 2007, we added sunflower seed processing capabilities to our plant in the city of Spyck by converting our rapeseed crusher to a multi-seed plant. And in 2008, we acquired a rapeseed crushing plant in Straubing, which strengthened the Company’s presence along the southern border, near the Czech Republic.
ADM’s storage assets include a silo complex in Hamburg as well as facilities on the Elbe River at Mecklenburg, and at Rostok on the Baltic Coast.
Supporting ADM’s business in Europe is our research and development center in Hamburg, where staff members provide customers with innovations and expertise that can improve the sensory quality, nutrition and cost of a wide range of products, including confectionery, baked goods, savory snacks, margarines and spreads, and dairy substitutes.
ADM has ownership interest in Alfred C. Toepfer International, one of the world’s largest traders of grain, with headquarters in Hamburg and 38 branches in other countries. Toepfer has built a strong reputation as a global seller of commodities and processed farm products, and it operates grain silos in Argentina, Romania and Ukraine.
ADM also has ownership interest in Singapore-based Wilmar International Limited, which has locations in Germany. Wilmar is Asia’s largest agricultural processing business, and operates palm plantations; crushing facilities for various types of oilseeds; vegetable oil refineries and packaging facilities; plants that produce oleo chemicals, soy proteins and fertilizers; and multiple wheat and rice milling operations.
