World Grain - October 2007 - 14

newsreview
Viterra posts net earnings of C$96 million in fourth quarter
REGINA, SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA - Viterra, the new operating name for Saskatchewan Wheat Pool Inc., announced its fourthquarter results on Sept. 7, reporting C$96 million in net earnings.
"It has been three months since we began operations as a combined company. During that time we completed a number of country
asset divestitures, two port terminal divestitures and refinanced much
of its pre-existing debt," said President and Chief Executive Officer
Mayo Schmidt. "At the same time, our team has been working diligently to integrate the operations of Agricore United (AU) to build
Canada's leading agribusiness. With the significant momentum illustrated by this quarter's financial results, coupled with the synergies

to be achieved, we believe that we have established an exceptional
platform for growth."
Under generally accepted accounting principles, periods prior to
the acquisition exclude the consolidated results of AU and its wholly
owned subsidiaries. Accordingly, results only include two months of
earnings attributed to AU for the period subsequent to the acquisition
date of May 29, 2007.
Viterra, stands for "Life from the Land." The new company has
revenues estimated at more than C$4 billion, primarily sourcing agricultural commodities through more than 100 grain handling and
marketing facilities across the Canadian Prairies.

Usher Agro increasing milling capacity
MUMBAI, INDIA - Usher Agro Ltd (UAL), a rice and wheat miller,
said in early September that it is planning to ramp up its rice milling
capacity from 57,600 tonnes per year to 257,900 in fiscal year 2009.
The company expects to build a new plant in Mathura, India, near
its existing plant, which is also undergoing modernization to enable

procurement of diverse paddy varieties for milling.
UAL said its foray into wheat products is part of its efforts to accelerate its growth rate. UAL has set up a wheat flour plant with an
installed capacity of 250 tonnes per 24 hours. The plant will manufacture flour along with whole meal atta, maida and suji.

Mill explosion kills five in Italy
FOSSANO, ITALY - The death toll from a July 26 explosion that occurred at Molino Cordero, a 200 tonne-per-day flour and semolina mill in Fossano, Italy, has risen to five, according to the Italian Association of Milling Technicians (ANTIM).
ANTIM's Paolo Panzavolta said the explosion initially killed one worker and hospitalized
four others with severe burns. All four burn victims later died from their injuries.
Panzavolta said the cause of the explosion is unknown but is under investigation. He said
the explosion damaged the milling section of the plant as well as the finished product bins and
warehouse. The wheat storage silos and cleaning house were not damaged, but the structure
is being torn down because officials determined that it is unstable, said Panzavolta. It has not
been determined whether the company plans to rebuild the mill, he said.
Panzavolta noted that this was the first mill explosion in Italy since the new ATEX (antiexplosion) European directive was implemented about four years ago.

Privé

Five died in an explosion at this milling facility in
Fossano, Italy. Photo courtesy of ANTIM.

Store your grain with Privé

111

Privé silos help you to solve your grain storage problems, for example :

*
*
*
*
*

Length of time to build a silo.
Long-term investment.
Aeration.
Classification of grain.
Origin of stored grain.

*
*
*
*

Cost per ton of stored grain.
Cost of labour
Pest control (insects, rodents, birds).
Dust control.
* Explosion risk.
CASA GRAIN
CASABLANCA
Maroc.
26.000 tons in 8 bins
with a diameter 17,77m

ALGERIA

Phone/fax 213 21 63 63 50

GERMANY

Phone 49 60 03 91 110
Fax 49 60 03 514

ROMANIA

Phone/fax 40 247 31 98 56

POLAND

Phone/fax 48 22 84 72 168

SWEDEN

Phone 46 413 54 44 44
fax 46 413 54 44 40

PORTUGAL Phone 351 21 778 61 55
fax 351 21 778 34 74
MOROCCO Phone 212 22 24 04 81
fax 212 22 24 04 84
TUNISIA

Phone 216 71 354 366
fax 216 71 343 401

TURKEY

Phone 90 332 352 17 22
fax 90 332 352 42 99

98, avenue du Général Patton - BP 536
51010 CHALONS EN CHAMPAGNE Cedex France
Web site : www.prive.fr
E-mail : contact@prive.fr
Tél 33 3 26 68 66 66 - Fax 33 3 26 68 66 99
For more information, see Page 78.

October 2007 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com

http://www.prive.fr http://www.World-Grain.com

World Grain - October 2007

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of World Grain - October 2007