Our History

History of integrity, positioned for growth.

Bunge North America was incorporated in New York City in 1923. Now headquartered in St. Louis, we have more than 4,000 employees throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. Integrated and positioned for growth, Bunge North America is a leading agribusiness and a driving force in the global marketplace.

1818

Johann Peter Gottlieb Bunge establishes Bunge & Co. in Amsterdam.

1859

Edouard Bunge, Johann's grandson, relocates the company to Antwerp to trade commodities.

1884

The company establishes operations in Argentina to trade grain.

1905

The company expands into Brazil and enters the wheat milling business.

1918

The company opens its first trading office in North America, incorporating in 1923.

1935

The company purchases its first sizable grain facility, Midway, a rail terminal in Minneapolis, which positioned it to move from a pure grain trader to a full-service grain company throughout the 1940s and 50s.

1960s

Bunge opens the largest export elevator of its kind in the U.S. in Destrehan, La. Diversifying into value-added processing in the late 1960s, the company builds its first soybean processing plant adjacent to the Destrehan elevator in 1967.

1979

The company expands down the food production chain with the purchase of Lauhoff Grain Company, becoming the largest corn dry miller in the world.

1980

Bunge acquires three edible oil refineries, marking its entry into value-added oil processing and packaging.

1990

The company moves its headquarters from New York to a more strategic location in St. Louis, Mo.

1997

Bunge invested in Harinera La Espiga in Mexico City, the largest wheat mill in the Spanish-speaking Americas.

1999

Bunge builds the largest U.S. soybean crushing and refining plant in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

2001

In May, the company changes its name to Bunge North America. On August 2, 2001, its parent company, Bunge Limited, begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BG).

2002

Bunge Limited purchases Cereol, SA., to become the world's largest soy processor. As a result, Bunge North America integrates its operations with Cereol's North American oilseed businesses,“ Central Soya in the United States and CanAmera Foods in Canada.

2006

The company enters into a strategic partnership with Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy, LLC, to produce corn-based ethanol.

2010

Bunge acquires Pacific International Rice Mills, LLC (PIRMI) in Woodland, Calif., marking its first entry into rice milling.

2012

EGT, LLC, a joint venture with ITOCHU, begins exporting from a newly constructed U.S. export elevator on the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest. It was the first export elevator built in the U.S. in the last 30 years.

2013

Bunge acquires leading Mexican wheat miller Grupo Altex, more than tripling its size in Mexico and marking the largest acquisition in Bunge North America's history.

2015

Bunge forms a joint venture with Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC) and acquires a majority interest in CWB.

Today & Tomorrow

Bunge North America continues to look for growth opportunities along the food supply chain. With its expansive North American footprint, access to global markets and processing technology, the company is poised to help growers and customers prosper today and in the future.