MAUMEE, OHIO — The Andersons, Inc. Grain Group announced it has acquired Purity Foods, Inc., an organic and conventional ancient grains processor in Hudson, Mich.
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| Andy Vollmar, director of Food Ingredients and Specialty Grains at The Andersons |
“Our investment in Purity Foods is consistent with our objective to expand the Grain Group’s food ingredient business,” said Andy Vollmar, director of Food Ingredients and Specialty Grains at The Andersons. “The Andersons has been a longtime supplier of food grade corn, oats, soybeans and wheat to the U.S. food market. We are now moving into milling ancient grain products with a direct transparent supply chain, giving visibility to and for our farm customers as well as our food manufacturers. We are excited about the new capabilities this acquisition gives our company.”
Established in 1979, Purity Foods has a 650,000-bu storage capacity along with two production lines. The site is certified by the American Institute of Baking and Quality Assurance International. It also has a cleaning facility that is capable of conditioning and color sorting organic and conventional grains.
The purchase of Purity Foods is the third transaction that the company has announced in 2017. The Andersons signed an agreement to sell its farm center locations in Florida to Wedgworth’s Inc. The agreement includes real estate and assets owned by The Andersons at Zellwood, Clewiston and Lake Placid as well as the assets and operations located in Immokalee.
In mid-January, The Andersons announced its plan to sell and exit the retail business altogether. The company indicated the retail business has struggled in recent years, with the company’s Retail Group incurring pre-tax losses of more than $20 million during the past eight years. The company also has closed three stores during that period.
