USA — Bunge Ltd., the global agribusiness company has announced that it will be relocating its global headquarters from New York, U.S., to St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
The world’s biggest soyabean processor and a leading international grain trader, said the move is expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter 2020 and cost US$35 million to US$45 million in restructuring charges.
The company is in the early planning stages of the transition to the new global headquarters. The announcement comes less than four months after the appointment of Gregory Heckman as chief executive.
“While St. Louis is already an important hub for Bunge and our current North American operations, the city is also home to a number of food, agriculture, animal health and plant science organizations and customers,” said Gregory A. Heckman, chief executive officer of Bunge.
“Moving the global headquarters to a location where Bunge has a major business presence is a big step forward in shifting the company’s operating model to align around a more efficient, streamlined global business structure.”
Bunge’s headquarters will move into an office building in Chesterfield, Missouri that has been occupied by its North American regional business since 2017.
“We are grateful to have called White Plains home for many years, and now look forward to the new growth and development opportunities that our expanded St. Louis presence will provide,” Heckman said.
In its history Bunge has moved its global headquarters several times since its was was established in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, in 1818.
In 1859, the company moved its headquarters to Antwerp, Belgium, to expand its footprint into Asia and Africa. In 1884 Bunge expanded its operation into Buenos Aires, Argentina, by launching a grain trading company.
Bunge continued to expand in South America with wheat mills, grain export companies and more before it began trading in North America in 1918, where a few years later, in 1923, it founded the Bunge North American Grain Corp. in New York City.
The company again moved its global headquarters in 1975 to São Paulo, Brazil. Lastly, Bunge moved its headquarters to White Plains, New York, U.S. in 1998, a World Grain report reveals.
The largest share of Bunge’s assets are located in South America, where it purchases crops from farmers for processing and export.
Bunge North America has a total of 63 grain storage facilities one port facility, 33 river facilities, 16 terminal facilities, 4 subterminal facilities and 9 processing plants.
