Archer Daniels Midland 2009 Annual Report Download - page 11

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Item 1.
BUSINESS (Continued)
Golden Peanut Company LLC, a joint venture between the Company and Alimenta (U.S.A.), Inc., is a major
supplier of peanuts to both the domestic and export markets. The Company has a 50% ownership interest in this
joint venture.
Stratas Foods, LLC, a joint venture between the Company and ACH Jupiter, LLC, a subsidiary of Associated
British Foods, procures, packages and sells edible oils in North America. The Company has a 50% ownership
interest in this joint venture.
The Company has a 16.1% ownership interest in Wilmar International Limited (Wilmar), a Singapore publicly
listed company. Wilmar is a leading agribusiness group in Asia, the largest global processor and merchandiser of
palm and lauric oils, and a major oil palm plantation owner. In China, Wilmar is a leading consumer edible oils
producer, oilseeds crusher, edible oils refiner, and specialty fats and oleochemicals manufacturer. In India, Wilmar
is one of the largest edible oils refiners and a leading producer of consumer edible oils.
Corn Processing
The Company is engaged in wet milling and dry milling corn operations primarily in the United States. Products
produced for use in the food and beverage industry include syrup, starch, glucose, dextrose, and sweeteners.
Dextrose is also produced for use by the Company as a feedstock for its bioproducts operations. Corn gluten feed
and meal as well as distillers grains are produced for use as animal feed ingredients. Corn germ, a by-product of
the wet milling process, is further processed as an oilseed into vegetable oil and protein meal.
By fermentation of dextrose, the Company produces alcohol, amino acids, and other specialty food and animal feed
ingredients. Ethyl alcohol is produced to beverage grade or for industrial use as ethanol. In gasoline, ethanol
increases octane and is used as an extender and oxygenate. Amino acids, such as lysine and threonine, are vital
compounds used in swine feeds to produce leaner animals and in poultry feeds to enhance the speed and efficiency
of poultry production. The Company also produces, by fermentation, astaxanthin, a product used in aquaculture to
enhance flesh coloration. The Company produces citric and lactic acids, lactates, sorbitol and xanthan gum which
are used in various food and industrial products.
Almidones Mexicanos S.A., in which the Company has a 50% interest, operates a wet corn milling plant in
Mexico.
Eaststarch C.V. (Netherlands), in which the Company has a 50% interest, owns interests in companies that operate
wet corn milling plants in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and Turkey.
The Company has a 50% interest in Telles, LLC (Telles), a joint venture between the Company and Metabolix to
market and sell PHA, which will be produced in a facility being constructed in phases by the Company. The
first phase is expected to be completed during the fourth quarter of calendar year 2009.
Red Star Yeast Company, LLC produces and sells fresh and dry yeast in the United States and Canada. The
Company has a 40% ownership interest in this joint venture.
Agricultural Services
The Agricultural Services segment utilizes the Company’s extensive grain elevator and transportation network in
the United States to buy, store, clean, and transport agricultural commodities, such as oilseeds, corn, wheat, milo,
oats, rice, and barley, and resells these commodities primarily as animal feed ingredients and as raw materials for
the agricultural processing industry. Agricultural Services’ grain sourcing and transportation network also provides
reliable and efficient services to the Company’s agricultural processing operations. Agricultural Services’
transportation network capabilities include ground, river, rail, and ocean services which provide the flexibility to
transport agricultural commodities efficiently to the end consumer or the Company’s agricultural processing
operations.