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Mid Iowa Co-op to Purchase Share of Sinclair Elevator

Part of Mid Iowa Co-op's strategic expansion plan

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Mid Iowa Cooperative and the owners of Sinclair Elevator (and affiliates) have signed a definitive purchase agreement to consummate Mid Iowa’s investment in Sinclair’s grain, feed and crop chemical business interests near Parkersburg, Iowa. Mid Iowa has purchased an initial minority equity stake in a number of affiliated companies known collectively as Sinclair Elevator with future options to purchase additional equity, with the right to eventually own all of Sinclair and its affiliated companies.

Mike Kinley, CEO of Mid Iowa has watched Sinclair from afar for years and admired how they have run their company. “Sinclair Elevator has been a high performing company for decades and it’s an honor to be in partnership with folks who know how to add value to their customers” commented Kinley.

Sinclair Elevator has been owned by Roger Baker since 1979 and he has seen his fair share of change over that time. The company survived an EF5 tornado which almost completely destroyed the grain elevator, agronomy services and feed mill in 2008. The decision to rebuild surprised a number of folks but Baker and his team were loyal to their producer customers and decided to double down on the future. They didn’t replace some of the full service agronomy capabilities but did expand upon their grain and milling assets. “They have top notch personnel and facilities there and are located in a very complimentary fashion to our asset base. The opportunities for both companies to grow together are tremendous”, Kinley says.

“I’ve known about Mid Iowa for a number of years and they have a reputation for building and maintaining first class grain facilities”, reflects Baker. Mid Iowa’s most recent move in the area wasn’t this deal but to build a large modern grain elevator, near Grundy Center, on the northern flank of Mid Iowa’s territory, which is centered around Beaman and Conrad, Iowa. That elevator is scheduled to be completed and ready for the upcoming 2018 harvest. “Once I heard about that new elevator I got to thinking about what it could do for our feed customers and the producers we buy grain from…It’s all about being competitive”, recalls Baker.

Sinclair has one of the most modern large feed mills in the state of Iowa with the capability to produce over 750,000 tons of feed annually. Kinley says that Mid Iowa is attracted to all aspects of Sinclair’s portfolio and the company has always wanted to find a way to get tied-in further down the supply chain. “We found a way to make this a real win-win and that’s why the investment made sense”, says Kinley.

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