Company News Headlines: Acquisitions, New Hires, Promotions and More

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A round-up of company news in the pork industry.

Furst-McNess Co. Acquired by Easy USA Holdings Inc.
Animal feed and ingredients producer Furst-McNess Co. has been acquired by Easy USA Holdings Inc. (Easy USA) of Oskaloosa, Iowa.

A renowned, family-owned livestock nutrition company founded in 1908, FMC has 12 major facilities in eight states and Canada selling animal feeds, premixes, commodities and specialty solutions. The company will retain its name and continue to operate as a stand-alone business, receiving financial, talent and other resources from Easy USA, Furst-McNess said in a release.

The company said no jobs are expected to be affected by this combination; to the contrary, FMC is hiring and looking to bring on board even more talent in the months ahead. Meanwhile, long-time company leader Ned Furst will continue to be involved as chairman emeritus of the board.

Easy USA is a newly formed subsidiary of Easy Holdings Co. Ltd. (Easy Holdings), a $2 billion publicly traded, international animal feed nutrition and feed mill organization with distribution in 65 countries. FMC is expected to realize new growth opportunities especially through another Easy Holdings subsidiary called Easy Bio Inc., which delivers feed additives and specialized piglet feeds to more than 30 countries, the release said.
 

United Animal Health Fills Critical Senior Leadership Role 
Scott D. Holmstrom, Ph.D. has joined United Animal Health as their new Senior Vice President of Research and Development and will be a part of the executive leadership team. Holmstrom will replace longtime United Animal Health leader Ronny Moser, Ph.D., who will begin phasing his retirement, the company said in a release.

Holmstrom most recently held the position of Vice President of Global Product Development at Elanco Animal Health where he provided strategic direction for the global development of products through external and internal coordination, governance, and resourcing. Throughout his career he held several key positions and has a breadth of experience to bring to his new role, the company said. 

He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin and his Ph.D. from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He has published many noteworthy articles and sits on several boards including AgriNovus Indiana, IU Kelley School of Life Sciences, Miami University, and the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). Holmstrom and his wife, Colleen, have two daughters and currently live in the Fishers, Ind., area.

As Holmstrom begins his journey with United, Moser will begin to wind down his 27+ years of service to the company. He has served as United’s Vice President of Research for the past nearly four years and received the 2019 United Animal Health Core Values Award for his contributions to United’s culture and practical implementation of organizational values.

Moser received his doctorate in swine nutrition from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1980. He and his wife, Connie, have two sons and eight grandchildren.

Glaubius Named Innovative Area Sales Manager at BioZyme Inc.
Kevin Glaubius, a 26-year veteran of BioZyme® Inc. has recently shifted roles and become the Innovative Area Sales Manager. In his new role, he will offer nutritional field sales support to dealers in Nebraska and distributors as well as leadership and training to others in the BioZyme network.

A native Nebraskan, Glaubius was raised on a diversified livestock operation that included registered Angus cattle, commercial swine and a feedlot. He was active in 4-H and showed at the national level and has even barrel raced in his younger years. Working at BioZyme since 1995, he has a strong background in nutrition and management in the cow calf, stocker and feedlot sectors of the industry

With his background in various aspects of the BioZyme culture, Glaubius will also be working with key distributors, not only to help build business, but to develop relationships and help those key customers understand the business at BioZyme.
 

EveryPig has been selected to GRAFT Vietnam 2021
The GRAFT Challenge Vietnam 2021 is a joint collaboration between the Vietnamese and Australian governments, aimed at bringing agricultural technology solutions to Vietnam.

After a competitive and inspiring online challenge, the selection committee of GRAFT Challenge Vietnam has chosen nine leading ag-tech scale-ups from overseas to enter the Vietnamese market such as AgNext Technologies, Cropln (India), EveryPig (U.S.), Hillridge Technology (Australia), JalaTech, Koltiva (Indonesia), ListenField (Thailand), Sufresca (Israel) and Tepbac (Vietnam).

With GRAFT's assistance, EveryPig will connect with Vietnamese producers and government to help put Vietnamese pork producers in a better position to recognize and respond to pig health challenges, and deal with African swine fever, EveryPig said in a release.
 

Elanco Convenes Animal Ag CEOs and Sustainability Leaders 
On Sept. 14, Elanco Animal Health will help convene hundreds of global leaders in animal agriculture for The Sustainable Solutions for Zero Hunger Forum. The forum, which will take place in Washington, D.C., and virtually, will focus on animal agriculture’s role in ensuring sustainability while achieving zero hunger by 2030.

This solutions-focused event will assemble business leaders, policymakers, producers, processors, NGOs and other key stakeholders to collectively tackle the critical issue of sustainably combating climate change, hunger and improving the resiliency of the global animal protein food chain, the Elanco said in a release. 

The timing for this forum, directly in advance of the United Nations (UN) Food Systems Summit, is important to highlight animal’s role as a constructive solution to climate change, the company said.


Zinpro Corporation Promotes Candyce Trautwein to Chief Financial Officer
Zinpro Corporation has promoted Candyce Trautwein to chief financial officer. In this role, Trautwein will be responsible for outlining the strategic direction for Zinpro’s global accounting and finance teams and building the financial tools and processes to support Zinpro’s growth in the years to come, the company noted in a release. 

Trautwein also will leverage her established relationships and business knowledge to drive excellence in financial planning with leaders across the global organization. In addition to her time on Zinpro’s financial team, Trautwein brings 13 years of experience to the role and will continue to be based at the Zinpro headquarters in Eden Prairie, Minn.

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