History
In 1902, George A. Archer and John W. Daniels began a linseed crushing business. In 1923, Archer-Daniels Linseed Company acquired Midland Linseed Products Company, and the Archer Daniels Midland Company was formed. Every decade since its corporate inception, ADM has added at least one major profit source to its agribusiness: milling, processing, specialty food ingredients, cocoa, nutrition, and more.
In 1971 Dwayne Andreas became Chief Executive Officer of ADM, and is credited with transforming the firm into an industrial powerhouse. Andreas remained CEO until 1997. He was one of the most prominent political campaign donors in the United States, having contributed millions of dollars to Democratic and Republican candidates alike.
In September 1999, executive Marty Andreas announced, under pressure from the European agricultural industry, they were going to separate crops into genetically modified and non-genetically modified groups to give their customers a choice. Previously the company had not disclosed their crop sources.
In 2001, Paul B. Mulhollem became the President of ADM. The Archer Daniels Midland Company made history by becoming the first U.S. company to sign a contract with Cuba since the embargo against Cuba was imposed October 1960.
In May 2006, Patricia A. Woertz became CEO. Formerly of Chevron, she is expected to focus on developing ethanol and biofuels. In February 2007 Ms. Woertz was elected Chairman of the Board at ADM.
On 22 August 2011, Archer Daniels Midland announced that the soybean processing facility in Galesburg, Illinois was closing immediately, and its operations would be transferred to other ADM oilseeds facilities. The facility has been idle since April 2011. Some of the 31 employees will be offered the opportunity to transfer to other ADM facilities.
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“When the history of this period is written, [William Jennings] Bryan will stand out as one of the most remarkable men of his generation and one of the biggest political men of our country.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)
“They are a sort of post-house,where the Fates
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“History, as an entirety, could only exist in the eyes of an observer outside it and outside the world. History only exists, in the final analysis, for God.”
—Albert Camus (1913–1960)