Ingredion

The company, which began as Corn Products Refining Co. and later as "CPC," was founded by the merger of leading US corn refiners in 1906.[6] The company was incorporated in New Jersey.[7] It supplied the raw materials for Argo cornstarch and Mazola corn oil.[8]

In 1981, CPC formed a partnership with Texaco to produce bioethanol at a plant in Pekin, Illinois.[9] In 1995, the plant was sold to Williams Companies and, in 2003, continued as Aventine Renewable Energy.[10] The company has a facility in nearby Mapleton, Illinois, along U.S. Route 24, which is part of an industrial area, a major area employer.[11]

CPC acquired starch factories in Europe from 1919 until 1987 when they were sold for $600 million to the Italian French sugar manufacture Eridania Béghin-Say owned by Ferruzzi and renamed Cerestar.[6][12] Cerestar is sold in 2002 to Cargill for $1.14 billion having a turnover of $1.56 billion in 2000.[13]

The Bestfoods division of the company known for brands Maizena, Knorr, Hellmann's / Best Foods mayonnaise and Skippy Peanut Butter existed as a division from 1958 until 1997 when the company split into 2 companies: Bestfoods, a packaged-foods company, and Corn Products International, a starch and sweeteners company.[14] Bestfoods was acquired for $24.3 billion in 2000 by Unilever.[15]

In October 2010, CPI acquired starch part of National Starch from Dutch paints firm AkzoNobel for $1.3 billion in cash.[16] It also took on pension and employee benefit liabilities.[17][18] National Starch had a turn-over of $1.2 billion in 2009 with 2250 employees operating 11 plants in 8 countries.[19] AkzoNobel had acquired division National starch after the take-over of chemical company ICI in 2008. National Starch was from 1978 till 1997 part of specialty chemical businesses of Unilever before it was sold to ICI.[20] National Starch was founded in 1895 as an adhesive company and expanded in 1939 into the starch production with the aquistion of Piel Brothers Starch Co. [21]

As of 2012, Ingredion has moved up to become a Fortune 500 company [22][23] and was renamed Ingredion.[24]

Recent aquisitions:

• 2015 Penford Corp for $340 million [25] and then Kerr Concentrates for $100 million.[26] Penford produced mainly potato starch derivatives had a turn-over of $467 million with 445 employees in 2014 in six plants. Kerr Concentrates makes fruit and vegetables concentrates and purees and had a turnover of $75 million and 82 employees.[27]
• 2016 Shandong Huanong Specialty Corn Development Co, a corn starch manufacturing plant in China.[28]
• 2017 TIC Gums as well as Sun Flour Industry Co, a Thai rice starch and flour company.[25]
• 2019 Western Polymer, a US side stream potato starch manufacturer mainly cationic starch for the paper industry. Western Polymer employed about 70 people at 3 sites.[29][30]
• 2020 PureCircle, a stevia sweetners maker,[31] with Ingredion owning 75% of the new subsidiary.[32]

In 2018 Ingredion began a joint venture with Verdient Foods to increase its investment in plant-based proteins,[33] and also began manufacturing and producing Astraea Allulose.[34]

In 2019, Ingredion led the series B venture capital raising for Clara Foods, a company developing a animal(chicken)-free egg white protein based on fermentation.[35]

In 2020 Ingredion began marketing Canadian company NorQuin’s quinoa products.[36] It also invested $200 million into plant-based meat substitutes.[37] Ingredion also began development on a plant-based protein manufacturing plant in South Sioux City, Nebraska.[38] In 2020, Ingredion also acquired Verdient Foods.[39]

From 2009 to 2017 the president and CEO of the company was Ilene S. Gordon. Upon her retirement, James Zallie was named to the position of president and CEO.[40]The combined company employs approximately 11,000 people in North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific [41] and operates 44 manufacturing facilities in 14 countries.

The company was named the “World's Most Ethical Company” in 2014 by the Ethisphere Institute.[42] Ingredion has also been listed as one of Fortune magazine’s “most admired companies”.[43]