Milling & Baking News - January 29, 2019 - 12

Business

Conagra Brands chief executive to
address 2019 Purchasing Seminar
KANSAS CITY - The rapidly changing
landscape for the consumer packaged
foods industry will be addressed by
Sean M. Connolly, president and chief
executive officer of Conagra Brands,
Inc., in a presentation during the 42nd
annual Purchasing Seminar sponsored
by Sosland Publishing Company.
The seminar, which was created for
purchasing executives at food, beverage and ingredient companies, will be
held June 9-11 at the Palmer House in
Chicago.
"Over the last several years, the food
industry has experienced wrenching
change," said L. Joshua Sosland, president, Sosland Publishing Company.
"Sean Connolly has been navigating
those changes in leadership positions
at a number of companies. His insights will help purchasing executives
better understand how their roles are
evolving in the current hyper-dynamic
environment."
Mr. Connolly has been c.e.o. of
Conagra since March 2015. Before that,
he was president and c.e.o. of Hillshire
Brands Co. from the time it was spun
off by Sara Lee Corp. in 2012 until it was

acquired by Tyson Foods, Inc. in 2014 in
a $9 billion transaction.
Before he was tapped to lead Hillshire, Mr. Connolly was president and
c.e.o. of Sara Lee North American Retail and Foodservice and president of
Campbell Soup North America. Earlier,
he was brand manager in
the food and beverage division of Procter & Gamble Co.
He holds a bachelor's
degree in economics from
Vanderbilt University and
a master's degree in busi- Connolly
ness administration from
the University of Texas.
The seminar will begin the evening
of Sunday, June 9 (an optional Market
Fundamentals presentation will be offered Sunday afternoon) and will continue through mid-day on Tuesday. Mr.
Connolly's presentation will launch the
main session June 10. The program will
feature market presentations on grains,
oilseeds, bakery shortening, sweeteners, many other ingredients, the weather and other topics of importance to the
food and beverage industries.

TreeHouse closing St. Louis office
in cost-cutting initiative
OAK BROOK, ILL. - TreeHouse Foods,
Inc. said it will close its office in St. Louis
on June 28. The company said the decision is part of its previously announced
TreeHouse 2020 multi-year restructuring program to reduce cost structure and
administrative footprint and to align the
company with current and future needs.
The closing will affect approximately
170 employees. TreeHouse said work
currently being done in St. Louis will be
consolidated into the company's other facilities in Oak Brook.
"We appreciate the contributions that
the employees at the St. Louis location
have made over time," said Steven T. Oakland, president and chief executive officer
of TreeHouse. "Our decision to close St.
Louis was not taken lightly, and we are
committed to providing employee assistance through this challenging transition.
As we streamline our organization into
four divisions (from five) and build our
commercial excellence capabilities, it is
both prudent and strategic that we also
consolidate our administrative locations."
Costs associated with the closing are
12 / January 29, 2019

Milling & Baking News

expected to be incurred over the three
quarters ending June 30 and will total approximately $7.8 million.
As part of the company's TreeHouse
2020 restructuring effort, management is
committed to reducing its overall manufacturing structure by 20% and reduce
stock-keeping units by 25%.
Steps taken during the 2018 fiscal year
to achieve its goals included the closing of
manufacturing plants in Plymouth, Ind.,
and Brooklyn Park, Minn., and decommissioning 19 manufacturing lines. Additional
steps taken in fiscal 2018 included the partial closing of a plant in Dothan, Ala., the
full closure of plants in Battle Creek, Mich.,
and Visalia, Calif., and the decommissioning of 15 additional manufacturing lines.
The company also plans to close its office
in Omaha, Neb., by Jan. 31. TreeHouse said
it expects to incur approximately $6 million
in costs associated with the Omaha facility closing. The facility serves as an operations center for TreeHouse, with employees
working in customer service, information
technology, procurement, research and development, and supply chain. MBN

Mr. Connolly's presentation will
be followed on the program by Steve
Freed, vice-president of research at
ADM Investors. Mr. Freed, a regular
participant in the seminar for many
years, will address "The Global Outlook
and Rethinking Risk Management," addressing how factors driving price discovery in grains are changing.
New on the program in 2019 will be a
breakout session on packaging markets,
to be presented by Lauren Jia, managing
director, commodities risk management,
Macquarie Group, New York. Uncertain
crude oil markets have generated wide
price swings in packaging prices, and
Ms. Jia will discuss the situation for plastic markets, including polyethylene and
polypropylene, and suggest risk management strategies.
Prior to 2019, the Purchasing Seminar had been held in Kansas City for
41 consecutive years. The event brings
together more than 800 executives from
a wide range of companies, from the
world's largest consumer packaged
foods companies to small start-ups, together with a wide range of suppliers of
ingredients and services.
For additional information about
this event or to register, please visit
www.purchasingseminar.com or contact
Christina Sullivan at (816) 756-1000. MBN

Molinos Río de la Plata
acquires General Mills
dough brand
BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA - Molinos Río de la Plata, a unit of the Perez
Companc Group, has acquired La Salteña from General Mills, Inc. for an undisclosed amount. The purchase was
scheduled to close on Jan. 28.
La Salteña produces refrigerated
doughs and fresh and dry pastas.
Founded in 1962, the brand employs
more than 500 staff members and has
a plant in Burzaco, Argentina. Molinos
said it will work to develop La Salteña's offerings and increase its visibility
among Argentine consumers.
The acquisition is part of Molinos'
aggressive investment and growth
strategy. Over the past two years, the
Argentine food company, which owns
more than 20 brands, has invested $100
million into updating and expanding
its operations, which includes the construction of two storage centers and
two gluten-free noodle lines and creating Chocoarroz and Gallo Snacks production lines. MBN

bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

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Milling & Baking News - January 29, 2019

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