FORT WAYNE – Members of two Ohio agricultural supply companies on Monday approved a strategic merger that will join their cooperatives by the end of the year into one business with an estimated $496 million in annual sales.
Advanced Agri-Solutions Co-op Inc. of Wapakoneta, Ohio, and Southwest Landmark Inc., of Xenia, Ohio, will become Trupointe Cooperative Inc. as of Sept. 1.
CEO Larry Hammond said directors from each of the corporations’ board of directors have discussed the merger for the past two years.
The business will provide farm supplies and related materials to farmers in northeast Indiana, northwest Ohio and southwest Ohio.
Officials said the new company will provide better service for its customers and honor existing contracts.
No job reductions are expected, they said.
During a teleconference Monday, Hammond said the strength of the deal lies in what the companies gain as a united operation. Seed, crop protection, fertilizer, feed, retail farm stores, grain merchandising and propane delivery are among the agricultural offerings.
“The two (companies) will not overlap,” Hammond said.
He touted diverse product line as reason customers and employees should have confidence in the venture’s future.
Agricultural analyst Ted Little noted that a “co-op is no different from Walmart or Meijer” when it comes to doing business.
“Why do those companies do well? It’s because they can buy in bulk, and that’s an advantage co-ops can have,” said Little, a loan manager at Midwest Ag Finance in Marion.
“They’re also able to obtain some economies of scale. The one (drawback) is that you have one less competitor out there, so there’s less competition” and potentially less incentive to keep prices low.
