Earlier this fall, the Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) announced its plans to move its global headquarters from Decatur to an area with easier access to the rest of the world.
ADM was founded in 1902 by George Archer and John Daniels, and moved its corporate offices and research laboratory to Decatur in 1968. It was named the world’s most admired food-production company by Fortune Magazine for 2009, 2010, and 2011.
Since announcing their intention to move headquarters, ADM has also announced its desire for $24 million in tax incentives to move to Chicago.
The company has reported a net income of $1-2 billion annually.
While some residents are concerned about the change, Millikin’s President, Patrick White, is confident that ADM will continue to support the university.
“ADM and the many people who work [there] have been huge supporters [of Millikin]. Our Scovill/ADM building is named after their generosity to the university. We fully expect that connection and support to continue.”
ADM-Scovill Hall was dedicated in 2005. ADM financed half of the $6 million used to renovate the building.
The company, which employs roughly 4,400 Decatur residents at its plant, will keep the bulk of its workforce in Decatur, taking only the 100 or so executives and another 100 IT workers to their new global headquarters, whose location has yet to be determined.
“I think in and of itself, a hundred people leaving, even though they’re high-paid people, that in and of itself isn’t so bad,” White said. “It’s a question of what will it mean long-term. Does this mean that Archer Daniels Midland is turning its attention away from Decatur? I think inevitably it will a little bit. But they’ll still have a stake here.”
As part of their plan to show their continuing commitment to Decatur, ADM will donate a substantial amount of money to various parts of the town, including giving the school district $500,000 a year for five years.
ADM also has a history of paying for many of their mid-to-senior-level employees’ MBA degrees at Millikin.
“We currently have 15 or so students in our business MBA program who are ADM employees,” White said. “[ADM] sends them here and pays for their degrees…we don’t know if they’ll continue to do that, but we certainly hope they will.”
In addition to sending employees to study at Millikin, the Andreas family, owners of ADM before the company went public, is made up of many Millikin alumni.
“When ADM was privately owned, the Andreas family and the Andreas Foundation, who owned ADM at the time, have [sic] remained in town and remain connected to the university,” White said. “In that sense, many of the things we’ve had going with ADM will hopefully continue.”
“Whether or not they’re supporting, we still have a lot of ADM families and families of workers who come to Millikin, and that’s important for us; supporting the job base in the city of Decatur.”
ADM has yet to announce a definite location or date for its move.