Ingredion

Ingredion Incorporated

Formerly	Corn Products International (1906-2012)
Type	Public
Traded as	NYSE: INGR S&P 400 Component
Industry	Food Beverage Pharmaceutical Animal Feed Corrugating Paper Textile Health & Wellness
Founded	1906; 116 years ago (1906)
Headquarters	Westchester, Illinois, United States
Key people	James Zallie (President and CEO) Jim Gray (CFO)[1]
Products	Sweeteners Starches Corn Syrups Glucose Oil
Revenue	US$ 5.84 billion (2017)
Operating income	US$ 703 million (2017)
Net income	US$ 454 million (2017)
Total assets	US$ 5.73 billion (2017)
Total equity	US$ $2.41 billion (2017)[2]
Number of employees	12,000[3][4] (2017)
Website	www.ingredion.com
Footnotes / references [5]

Ingredion Incorporated is an American multinational ingredient provider based in Westchester, Illinois producing mainly starch, modified starches and starch sugars as glucose syrup and high fructose syrup.^[3]

The company turns corn, tapioca, potatoes, and other vegetables and fruits into ingredients for the food, beverage, brewing, and pharmaceutical industries and numerous industrial sectors.^[6] It has more than 11,000 employees around the world in 44 locations, and customers in more than 60 markets in over 40 countries.^[2]

History

The company, which began as Corn Products Refining Co. and later as "CPC," was founded by the merger of leading US corn refiners in 1906.^[7] The company was incorporated in New Jersey.^[8] It supplied the raw materials for Argo cornstarch and Mazola corn oil.^[9]

In 1981, CPC formed a partnership with Texaco to produce bioethanol at a plant in Pekin, Illinois.^[10] In 1995, the plant was sold to Williams Companies and, in 2003, continued as Aventine Renewable Energy.^[11] The company has a facility in nearby Mapleton, Illinois, along U.S. Route 24, which is part of an industrial area, a major area employer.^[12]

CPC acquired starch factories in Europe from 1919 until 1987 when they were sold for $600 million to the Italian French sugar manufacture Eridania Béghin-Say owned by Ferruzzi and renamed Cerestar.^[7][13] Cerestar is sold in 2002 to Cargill for $1.14 billion having a turnover of $1.56 billion in 2000.^[14]

The Bestfoods division of the company known for brands Maizena, Knorr, Hellmann's / Best Foods mayonnaise and Skippy Peanut Butter existed as a division from 1958 until 1997 when the company split into 2 companies: Bestfoods, a packaged-foods company, and Corn Products International, a starch and sweeteners company.^[15] Bestfoods was acquired for $24.3 billion in 2000 by Unilever.^[16]

In October 2010, CPI acquired starch part of National Starch from Dutch paints firm AkzoNobel for $1.3 billion in cash.^[17] It also took on pension and employee benefit liabilities.^[18][19] National Starch had a turn-over of $1.2 billion in 2009 with 2250 employees operating 11 plants in 8 countries.^[20] AkzoNobel had acquired division National starch after the take-over of chemical company ICI in 2008. National Starch was from 1978 till 1997 part of specialty chemical businesses of Unilever before it was sold to ICI.^[21] National Starch was founded in 1895 as an adhesive company and expanded in 1939 into the starch production with the acquisition of Piel Brothers Starch Co.^[22]

As of 2012, Ingredion has moved up to become a Fortune 500 company ^[23][24] and was renamed Ingredion.^[25]

Recent acquisitions:

• 2015 Penford Corp for $340 million ^[26] and then Kerr Concentrates for $100 million.^[27] Penford produced mainly potato starch derivatives had a turn-over of $467 million with 445 employees in 2014 in six plants. Kerr Concentrates makes fruit and vegetables concentrates and purees and had a turnover of $75 million and 82 employees.^[28]
• 2016 Shandong Huanong Specialty Corn Development Co, a corn starch manufacturing plant in China.^[29]
• 2017 TIC Gums as well as Sun Flour Industry Co, a Thai rice starch and flour company.^[26]
• 2019 Western Polymer, a US side stream potato starch manufacturer mainly cationic starch for the paper industry. Western Polymer employed about 70 people at 3 sites.^[30][31]
• 2020 PureCircle, a stevia sweetners maker,^[32] with Ingredion owning 75% of the new subsidiary.^[33]

In 2018 Ingredion began a joint venture with Verdient Foods to increase its investment in plant-based proteins,^[34] and also began manufacturing and producing Astraea Allulose.^[35]

In 2019, Ingredion led the series B venture capital raising for The EVERY Company, a company developing an animal(chicken)-free egg white protein based on fermentation.^[36]

In 2020 Ingredion began marketing Canadian company NorQuin's quinoa products.^[37] It also invested $200 million into plant-based meat substitutes.^[38] Ingredion also began development on a plant-based protein manufacturing plant in South Sioux City, Nebraska.^[39] In 2020, Ingredion also acquired Verdient Foods.^[40] Then in 2021, the company acquired Katech.^[41]

From 2009 to 2017 the president and CEO of the company was Ilene S. Gordon. Upon her retirement, James Zallie was named to the position of president and CEO.^[42] The combined company employs approximately 11,000 people in North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific^[43] and operates 44 manufacturing facilities in 14 countries.

Recognition

The company was named the “World's Most Ethical Company” in 2014 by the Ethisphere Institute.^[44] Ingredion has also been listed as one of Fortune magazine's “most admired companies”.^[45]

References