Wynnstay brings Midlands grain companies together for increased National presence
Leading agriculture and retail group, Wynnstay is bringing together two of the Midlands premier grain marketing businesses to create a substantial new company providing farmers across a wide trading area with the best possible access to national grain, oilseed and pulse markets.
The deal announced this week (Thursday May 5) sees Wrekin Grain acquired by Wynnstay Group plc to significantly expand its arable market scale, maintaining the rapid growth experienced since the former co-operative was listed on AIM in 2004.
From early July the entire staff of Wrekin Grain will be integrated with Wynnstays grain trading arm, Shropshire Grain Ltd at its Shrewsbury arable headquarters to form GrainLink. In due course the grain trading activity of Yorkshire-based Woodheads Seeds acquired by Wynnstay in 2010 will also become part of the new company, further increasing its scale.
Heralding the move as a valuable step forward for the Group and all its stakeholders, Wynnstay chief executive, Ken Greetham is confident GrainLink will build positively on the strong reputation for market knowledge and quality service established by all three of its parent businesses.
As a locally-focused business with sufficient national scale, GrainLinks key aim will be to help farmers across our trading area make the most of their opportunities in todays increasingly volatile and competitive commodity markets, he pointed out. After all, with over 50% of our shares owned by our farmer customers, we continue to be first and foremost farmer-focused.
At the same time, the new business will provide us with better links to food and feed processors across the country while enhancing the national supply chain scale they require in the modern market.
With Stuart Dolphin of Wrekin Grain as managing director and Shropshire Grains Paul Crump as commercial director, GrainLink will have a strong, well-respected management team as well as significant market presence, Ken Greetham added.
Julian Walker, who founded Shropshire Grain in 1980, will oversee the integration of the two companies before taking the opportunity to step back from the helm of the business to run its substantial milling wheat operations.
The integration will also combine Wrekin Grains fertiliser, seed, fuel, haulage and storage portfolio with Wynnstays extensive arable services to offer valuable additional farm supply business scale and efficiencies.
Our whole team very much looks forward to demonstrating the extra value GrainLink will bring to both existing suppliers and customers and to a growing range of new farmers and processors in the seasons ahead, concluded Ken Greetham.