Miller Magazine Issue: 129 September 2020

22 NEWS MILLER / September 2020 World milling sector has lost its doyen World milling industry lost a prominent figure and a doyen. Robert Coughenour passed away at the age of 96. He was pre- ceded in death by his beloved wife (Harriet- te), brother (Dean) and son, Michael. Bob was born November 3, 1924 in McPherson, Kansas. Coughenour’s career was in the wheat flour milling industry for 47 years, having been hired in 1942 du- ring WWII, in the KBR Milling Company of McPherson, Kansas. Upon consolidation into Rodney Milling and later into Seaboard Allied Milling, he moved to Kansas City to begin a new life. In 1967, he was elected to be Vice President of the company. Upon retiring from Seaboard, Bob joined The In- ternational Association of Operative Millers as their Executive Vice President. Robert Coughenour Glencore Agriculture to rebrand to Viterra Glencore Agriculture, a global market leader in origi- nating, handling, processing and marketing agricultu- ral commodities, announces it will rebrand the business to Viterra in late 2020. “Viterra is a globally recognised brand within the business. It also has a deep connecti- on to agriculture, with Viterra meaning vitality from the earth. This is an opportunity to unite our business under one brand with a shared purpose and identity.” Glencore Agriculture CEO David Mattiske said. Viterra is the name of the Canadian-based firm whose acquisition in 2012 helped Glencore become a leading in- ternational grain merchant. Glencore started as a metals and minerals firm under the name Marc Rich and Co. and got into agriculture with the purchase of Dutch grain tra- der Granaria in 1981. The firm rebranded as Glencore in 1993 and its Glencore Agriculture arm bought Viterra in 2012. Mattiske said the company is “planning for a smoo- th transition to the new brand over the coming months, while for employees and customers it’s business as usual.” “For over 40 years Glencore invested in the business to create one of the world’s leading agriculture networks. With the investment by CPP Investments and British Co- lombia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) in 2016, we now have three strong shareholders who share our vision for future growth and success.” The renaming comes after mining and commodity tra- ding group Glencore sold 50% of its agriculture business in 2016 to Canadian pension funds CPP Investments and British Colombia Investment Management Corporation, which led to Glencore Agriculture becoming a separate entity to Glencore Plc. Glencore Agriculture is a global leader in the origina- tion, handling, processing and marketing of agricultural commodities and products. With operations in more than 35 countries and a workforce of over 16,000, it has 24 port terminals, 180-plus elevators and handling facilities and over 30 processing plants.