Press Releases

The Andersons, Inc. announced today it has signed a 10-year stone handling and service agreement with Vulcan Construction Materials, LP of Lombard, Ill., a subsidiary of publicly held Vulcan Materials Company of Birmingham, Ala.

Under the agreement, Vulcan will deliver and store limestone and agricultural lime at The Andersons' grain terminal in White Pigeon, Mich. The Andersons will provide 11 acres of land for handling and storage, and use of existing railroad track, roadways and scales. The Andersons also will provide labor for off-loading railcars and loading trucks.

The arrangement is expected to increase annual income at the White Pigeon facility by 20 percent to 30 percent, reflecting a projected increase in the terminal's grain business as well as fees generated by the stone handling, storage and distribution.

"This agreement is a natural fit because it allows us to increase utilization of our assets in White Pigeon and improve service to customers through additional product offerings and lower transportation costs," said Bill Beier, manager of the White Pigeon terminal. "We are excited to see this project come to fruition after several years of discussion, planning and development."

The White Pigeon facility serves farmers in southwest Michigan and north- central Indiana. Since opening in 1981 with 450,000 bushels of concrete storage space for grain, it has added 900,000 bushels of outdoor covered storage, 1.1 million bushels of steel storage and a grain drying system. The terminal handles corn and soybeans for the domestic market.

The venture will also give The Andersons an opportunity to market agricultural lime to its grain customers. "In the past, many customers delivered some of their grain to other facilities in Ohio and Indiana to backhaul ag lime. Agricultural lime is a necessary ingredient that is spread on farm fields to neutralize the acidity of the soil to improve production," Beier said. "Now that we can offer this product at our facility, we expect an increase in grain receipts."

The Andersons will be responsible for sales and marketing of the agricultural lime. Vulcan will have its own sales force for limestone. The White Pigeon location is one of 14 grain elevators operated by The Andersons in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois with a combined storage capacity of 80 million bushels.

The Andersons is a respected leader and dominant regional player in the grain industry. This strong position in its basic businesses has allowed the company to diversify into other agribusiness operations, several processing and manufacturing businesses, and general merchandise retailing. The company has been in operation since 1947.

This release contains forward-looking statements, including statements with respect to anticipated revenue growth, adequacy of cash flows and profitability. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including without limitation, economic, weather and competitive conditions, risks associated with acquisitions and the risk factors set forth from time to time in the company's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

For further information regarding The Andersons free of charge via fax dial 1-800-PRO-INFO and enter code ANDE.

SOURCE: The Andersons, Inc.