commodity management
Commodity management is the process of developing a systematic approach to the entire usage cycle for a group of items.
The term is often used interchangeably with category management.
It is generally considered as one aspect of the procurement ma ...
firm based in
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...
. The company is organized into two operating segments:
Operating segments
Grain & Ingredients – Gavilon originates, stores, and distributes grains and oilseeds, as well as feed and food ingredients, to food manufacturers, livestock producers, poultry processors, soybean processors and ethanol producers worldwide.
Fertilizer – The company also partners with offshore suppliers and leverages its global logistics system to provide customers competitively priced fertilizer.
Gavilon uses the futures market to manage price risk associated with inventory positions and forward contracts.
History
The company’s history dates back to 1874, when
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
-based Peavey Company built its first grain facility. In 1967 the Canadian operations began and later renamed as
Peavey Mart
Peavey Mart is a Red Deer, Alberta-based chain of hardware and agricultural supply stores owned by Peavey Industries LP. The chain was originally founded by the Peavey Company in 1967 as National Farmway Stores, and was renamed Peavey Mart in 1 ...
. In 1982, Peavey was acquired by ConAgra Foods, Inc. and later became part of 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 significantly expanded the company’s agricultural operations. In 2013,
Marubeni Corporation
(, OSE: 8002, NSE: 8002) is a ''sōgō shōsha'' (general trading company) headquartered in Nihonbashi, Chuo, Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the largest ''sogo shosha'' and has leading market shares in cereal and paper pulp trading as well as a st ...
, 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 LP (NYSE: NGL).
Today, Gavilon employs 2,000 people around the world and is the second largest grain handler in North America based on storage capacity.
Bee Branch Mussel Killing
On June 18, 2020, Gavilon Grain spilled a million gallons of liquid nitrogen fertilizer into the Bee Branch. The accident was caused by a mistake transferring nitrogen, with the receiving tank overfilling. The transfer was not being watched nor was the spill immediately reported. This severely damaged the mussel population, causing the largest mussel kill in the state. The company was fined $270,000. The largest fine of $244,705 was issued to restore giant floater and
plain pocketbook
''Lampsilis cardium'' is a species of freshwater mussel in the family Unionidae, the river mussels. It is known commonly as the plain pocketbook.