SALT LAKE CITY — Savage Companies and Bartlett and Co. on Aug. 1 finalized the merger of their businesses. As part of the transaction, Bartlett Grain Co. and Bartlett Milling Co. have merged with Savage to create Savage Enterprises. The grain and milling businesses will continue to operate under the Bartlett name.
“We’re excited to unite two exceptionally strong businesses with over 180 years of combined experience,” said Kirk Aubry, president and chief executive officer of Savage Enterprises. “We share a commitment to delivering for our customers, partners and team members around the world, and we look forward to what we can achieve together.”
A specialist in supply chain services, Savage has more than 4,000 employees in 250 operation locations across the United States, Canada, Mexico and Saudi Arabia. The company focuses on rail, truck and marine transportation, logistics, materials handling and other industrial and environmental services. Savage works with companies in the oil refining, power generation, rail, food and agriculture, oil and gas, chemical and petrochemical, and construction industries.
Jeff Hymas, communications director at Savage, said the merger provides diversification and an enhanced pathway for growth for both companies.
Speaking Aug. 6 with Milling & Baking News, Mr. Hymas said the combined business has opportunities to leverage its distinct capabilities for growth both domestically and internationally.
“For example, Bartlett is a major exporter of grain to Mexico,” he said. “Savage is developing a rail and maritime terminal for refined petroleum products in and around Mexico. We see synergies and opportunities there as well as other locations.”
Food and agriculture historically have not been the largest businesses for Savage, though the company’s transloading business extends to grain and food products, mostly moving commodities from rail to truck or vice versa. In agriculture, Savage has a large business in the movement and management of materials used in the manufacture of fertilizer and crop nutrients, Mr. Hymas said.
Going forward, Savage will be focused on three key business:
1. Agriculture, including Bartlett’s grain and milling assets together with Savage’s supply chain services with products like fertilizer and the transloading of food grade products. The largest part of this business is with Bartlett’s existing grain and milling operations. The grain business supplies wheat, feed grain, food grade corn and soybeans to customers such as flour millers, corn processors, feed millers and soybean processors. Mr. Hymas said Bartlett is one of the largest grain exporters to Mexico from the United States and supplies ethanol makers while merchandising distillers’ grain. The company mills flour for bakeries, distribution centers and restaurants and also formulates feed for livestock.
2. Energy and Chemical represents the bulk of Savage’s legacy business. The company offers various in-plant services at oil refineries and power plants operating equipment involved in maintaining stockpiles, fuel, maintenance, loading and unloading. Rail services include switching and trans loading. Service also is provided in oilfields. Wellhead services include water and oil and gas transport. A marine business was added in the past few years, with boats and barges, both inland and on the coasts.
3. Environmental is a more recent addition to the Savage portfolio; the company has acquired over the past couple of years two environmental service businesses based in the Midwest. Services offered by the division include emergency response for the cleanup of spills as well as the transportation and disposal of waste.
“These point to our purpose as a combined company, which is to enable customers and partners to feed the world, power our lives and sustain the planet,” Mr. Hymas said, noting that each of the company’s segments relate to an element of the company’s purpose.
“We’ve been serving different types of customers, but there are a lot of similarities,” Mr. Hymas said of Savage and Bartlett. “We think that will help the companies come together more quickly and be able to move the business forward without a lot of hiccups.”
Bartlett Milling is the eighth largest flour milling company in the United States with 41,000 cwts of daily milling capacity at three mills in Kansas and North Carolina, according to the 2018 Grain & Milling Annual, published by Sosland Publishing Company. Also according to the G.M.A., Bartlett is the 20th largest grain company in the United States with 69,326,000 bus of grain storage capacity.
Not included in the transaction is the Bartlett Cattle business. Bartlett earlier this month signed a definitive agreement to sell two cattle-feeding operations in Sublette, Kas., and Tulia, Texas, to Green Plains Cattle Co.
Not included in the transaction is the Bartlett Cattle business. Bartlett earlier this week signed a definitive agreement to sell two cattle-feeding operations in Sublette, Kas., and Tulia, Texas, to Green Plains Cattle Co. for approximately $16 million, plus working capital totaling approximately $109 million.