Richardson International Limited has expanded its oat milling business with the acquisition of European Oat Millers.
The acquisition closed on June 15, 2017.
“We are excited to build on our success in value-added processing and extend our food manufacturing footprint to a new geography,” says Curt Vossen, President and CEO of Richardson International. “As the largest oat miller in North America, we now look forward to building a presence in Europe to enhance our ability to compete in the global marketplace.”
Based in Bedford, England, European Oat Millers is a leader in the oat milling business. It is the second largest oat miller in Europe, producing a wide range of oat products, including various oat flakes, flour and groats, as well as wheat and barley flakes and extruded ingredients and products. Products are sold throughout the U.K., with exports to continental Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
“European Oat Millers is a solid, family-owned business that is well-established in the U.K. We have been very impressed with both the quality of the business and its peopleand believe it is an excellent complement to our Richardson Milling division,” says Vossen. “Looking ahead, we will build on the investments that have already been made, including increasing manufacturing capacity, and will continue to seek opportunities to expand our global business.”
“My brother and I are very proud of the business that we have successfully grown over the past three decades,” says Bill Jordan, who co-founded European Oat Millers with his brother, David. ‘We are pleased to be passing it on to a similar family-owned business that shares both our vision for growth and our core values and we look forward to watching the business evolve.”
Richardson first entered the oat milling business in 2013 with the acquisition of three oat processing plants in Canada -Portage la Prairie, Manitoba; Martensville, Saskatchewan; Barrhead, Alberta–and one in the U.S. in South Sioux City, Nebraska. Today, Richardson is the largest oat miller in North America.
Richardson International is Canada’s leading agribusiness. Recognized as a global leader in agriculture and food processing,Richardson is a worldwide handler and merchandiser of major Canadian-grown grains and oilseeds and a vertically-integrated processor and manufacturer of oats and canola-based products. One of Canada’s Best Managed Companies, Richardson is headquartered in Winnipeg with over 2,500 employees worldwide.