Oct. 29--CHAMPAIGN -- The ACH Food Companies plant in Champaign will be affected by the Memphis, Tenn.-based company's decision to form a joint venture with Decatur-based Archer Daniels Midland.

The two companies announced Monday they have created Stratas Foods LLC, a joint venture for the manufacture, marketing and distribution of packaged vegetable oil products in the United States and Canada. Each company will have a 50 percent stake in it.

As described by the companies, Stratas will combine ACH's sales and marketing expertise with ADM's origination and processing capabilities.

ACH once known as HumKo employs about 300 at its plant at 710 N. Mattis Ave., C. That plant produces vegetable oils, such as those from canola, soybeans and cottonseed, as well as non-dairy creamer.

"We expect the Champaign operations to continue to produce the products it's producing at this time as a supplier to the new joint venture company," said Deborah Murdock, senior vice president of human resources for ACH. The plant will bottle oil for Stratas and, at the same time, produce creamer for ACH, she said.

Stratas will study ACH and ADM plants to determine the most cost-effective places to produce oil, Murdock said. ACH has oil plants in Champaign and Jacksonville, and ADM has oil plants in Decatur, Quincy, Valdosta, Ga., and Fresno, Calif., she said.

Stratas will be based in Memphis, and Dan Antonelli the current president of ACH will be chief executive officer of Stratas.

Stepping in as interim president of ACH will be Richard Rankin from ACH's parent company, Associated British Foods.

Stratas will serve the food-service, specialty food ingredient and retail private-label bottled oil markets. It is expected to produce 2.5 billion pounds of oil in its first year of operation. Its products will include vegetable oil, shortening, margarine and pan spray.

A statement from Mark Zenuk, ADM's vice president of global oilseeds, said ADM's "integrated and efficient processing operations" and ACH's access to higher-margin markets "will help keep costs low and enhance profitability." ACH, meanwhile, will focus on the growth of its retail consumer brands, according to George Weston, chief executive of Associated British Foods.

-----

To see more of The News-Gazette, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.news-gazette.com.

Copyright (c) 2008, The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

ADM, ASBFY, ABF,

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.