GAVILON GROUP (THE)

GAVILON GROUP (THE). Gavilon, a commodity management firm based in Omaha, Nebraska, was organized into two operating segments:

               1) Grain & Ingredients – originated, stored, and distributed grains and oilseeds, 
                  as well as feed and food ingredients, to food manufacturers, livestock producers, 
                  poultry processors, soybean processors and ethanol producers worldwide.

               2) Fertilizer – The company partneed with offshore suppliers and leveraged its 
                  global logistics system to provide customers competitively priced fertilizer.

The company’s history dated back to 1874, when Minneapolis-based Peavey Company built its first grain facility. In 1967 the Canadian operations began and were later renamed as Peavey Mart. In 1982, Peavey was acquired by ConAgra Foods, Inc. which later became part of the ConAgra Trade Group.

In 1984 Peavey Mart was sold to the Canadian management team. In 2008, a group of investors formed Gavilon and acquired ConAgra Trade Group, enabling the privately held company to focus on growing its commodity business. In 2010, Gavilon acquired the DeBruce Companies, which expanded the company’s agricultural operations. In 2013, Marubeni Corporation, one of the largest general trading companies in Japan, purchased the company's agriculture assets and businesses. Later that year, Gavilon's energy business was sold to NGL Energy Partners. (1)

In Dubuque, the Peavey Company, a subsidiary of Gavilon, operated three docks in the city of Dubuque along the [[MISSISSIPPI). Shipments included grain being shipped to overseas markets, dry and liquid fertilizers being delivered from overseas markets, and de-icing salt from national suppliers to local municipalities. Peavey was the sold handler of bulk road salt in the tri0state area. Other shipments included steel rebar from domestic and international mills for use in local and tri-state products and coal from national mines to local businesses. In 2009 Gavilon had approximately 930 employees worldwide with 22 in Dubuque. (2)

By 2020 Gavilon employed 2,000 people around the world and was the second largest grain handler in North America based on storage capacity. (3)

In 2022, Gavilon was purchased by Viterra for $1.1 billion. It was expected Gavilon would be fulling integrated in Viterra by early 2023. (4)

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Source:

1. "Gavilon," Wikipedia, Online: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gavilon

2. Reber, Craig D., "Salt of the Earth," Telegraph Herald, May 24, 2009, p. 19

3. "Gavilon"

4. Ibid.