Prince Agri buys
February 14, 2009
By Steve Eighinger
Prince Agri Products
Inc. of
"We believe this is in the best interests of
our customers, supplies, and definitely in the best interest of Quincy,"
said Dean Warras, president of Prince Agri, a subsidiary of Phibro
Animal Health Corp. based in Ridgefield Park, N.J. "(Baltzell)
is a wonderful company and well-known in the industry."
Published reports list the sale price as $24
million. The transaction, subject to certain closing conditions, is expected to
be final in March.
Prince Agri, based in
The company manages domestic and international
operations, production facilities and a state-of-the-art analytical laboratory.
Its focus is on the dairy, swine, poultry and beef markets, with selected
products for companion and specialty animals.
Baltzell Agri has specialized in
manufacturing and distributing pre-mix and mineral feed ingredients for
livestock and pet food. The company has a blending facility and warehouse in
"The integration ... of our businesses will
enable Prince Agri to serve an expanded geographical
market from multiple production facilities and will ensure our customers
continue to receive the cost-effective, high-quality products they need for
today's demanding market environment," Warras
said.
Both Prince Agri and Baltzell currently have 50 employees. Prince Agri's number of employees will swell to about 100 when its
new multimillion dollar, 165,000-square-foot facility in the South Quincy
Development District is completely operational.
Prince Agri broke ground
on the project in September 2008, and the first lines will be running about May
1. The entire project will not be completed until summer 2010.
The new facility will include manufacturing,
warehousing and laboratory areas.
The South Quincy Development District is a
5,000-acre industrial park on Ill. 57 between Quincy and Interstate 72.
Prince Agri headquarters
is at