ADM Completes Acquisition of WILD Flavors, Morris Appointed President of New Business Unit

02 Oct 2014 --- Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) has completed the acquisition of WILD Flavors GmbH. “One of the most important ways we are working to increase returns and reduce earnings volatility is through the growth of our specialty ingredient offerings,” said ADM Chairman and CEO Patricia Woertz. “These high-value products provide the opportunity for increased margins and strong sales aligned with global consumer trends. WILD Flavors is the latest in a series of strategic expansions in specialty ingredients, including our new Brazilian protein specialties complex and our Chinese soluble-fiber facility.”

ADM will form a new business unit, WILD Flavors and Specialty Ingredients, which will include the WILD business as well as the following ADM product lines:
• Specialty proteins (including isolated soy proteins, textured vegetable protein, soy protein concentrates, and soy flour & grits)
• Emulsifiers
• Edible beans
• Natural health and nutrition (natural-source vitamin E, plant sterols, soy isoflavones and Omega-3 DHA)
• Soluble fiber
• Polyols
• Hydrocolloids

The new business unit will be a reportable segment beginning Jan. 1, 2015.

Greg Morris will be president of the WILD Flavors and Specialty Ingredients business unit. He most recently was ADM’s president, North American Oilseeds Processing, where in addition to overseeing more than two dozen oilseed crushing plants, he led the creation of the company’s Foods & Wellness business, developing a high-margin, highly specialized portfolio of innovative products.

“Wild is a highly strategic business that is very complementary to our existing specialty ingredients businesses. This move supplements our already growing foods and wellness portfolio with world-class flavors, adding great, natural taste to ADM’s strengths in nutrition, function and texture,” Morris told FoodIngredientsFirst. “We will be able to offer our customers complete food and beverage solutions that taste great. With a world-class research and innovation capability and with 28 facilities around the world, we will be able to partner with customers and add complete food and beverage systems to our existing successful ingredient sales model.”

“This added capability will also speed our commercialization of innovative technologies by incorporating great taste into solutions from the start. We have a number of different “business models” already within ADM today, and we are establishing a new business unit—called Wild Flavor and Specialty Ingredients—to support the continued success of the business,” he added.

WILD North American Chief Operating Officer Vince Macciocchi has been named global president, WILD Flavors. In addition to leading the WILD Flavors business worldwide, Macciocchi will be responsible for designing the new business unit’s go-to-market strategy and will play a key role in several ADM initiatives, including the company’s innovation and customer excellence efforts.

Mike Ponder, WILD’s chief executive officer, recently announced his retirement and will join former majority owner Dr. Hans-Peter Wild on an advisory board for the business.

“Greg and Vince are responsible for ensuring that WILD Flavors’ recipe for success continues,” Woertz added. “Dr. Wild has built a great company, and we intend to support WILD’s innovative, entrepreneurial culture. Between our global networks, tremendous innovation capabilities, great teams, and extensive product lines from both ADM and WILD, we now have one of the world’s leading flavors and specialty ingredient companies. We are excited about offering complete food and flavor solutions to our customers around the globe.”

Greg Morris will be president of ADM’s WILD Flavors and Specialty Ingredients business unit. Previously, he served as ADM’s president, North American Oilseeds Processing. In that role, he oversaw more than two dozen crushing plants, Southern Cellulose Products, Inc., and the company’s Foods & Wellness group.

Morris joined ADM in 1995 and has held several management roles across the organization. He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois, and an MBA from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.

Vince Macciocchi is ADM’s global president, WILD Flavors. In this role, he is responsible for the WILD business within ADM’s new WILD Flavors and Specialty Ingredients business unit. He is also responsible for the new business unit’s go-to-market strategy. Macciocchi has more than a quarter century of experience in the ingredients industry. He came to WILD as its North American chief operating officer in 2012. Prior to that, he spent more than a decade at Givaudan flavors. He has also held positions at American-Maize Products Company, Roquette America and IngredientsNet.com.

Macciocchi holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois, and an MBA from North Central College in Naperville, Illinois.

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