“The grazing ruminant business is the most attractive one for us in Australia,” Matthew Smith, director of Asia-Pacific, Alltech, told feednavigator.
He said the acquisition of the family-owned Lienert, which was finalized this week, will allow the global nutrition supplier more ‘direct contact’ with cattle ranchers and other livestock producers.
The 40-year-old Lienert manufactures, distributes and supplies feed supplements and ingredients such as vitamins, acidifiers, and mycotoxin binders to customers based in Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines. It targets a broad range of clients from small family farms to integrated operations to commercial feed mills.
The financial terms of the deal were not revealed but Smith said the move will also see Alltech gain a greater share of animal nutrition markets beyond Australia’s borders.
“Lienert and Alltech see national and international opportunities for growing business in the pig and poultry industries with new nutrition and support programs in the pipeline for customers in the Asia Pacific region,” he added.
Raw material and logistic challenges
One of the biggest challenges for the Australian feed and livestock sectors is the availability of raw materials, which is partly due to the two different grain seasons in the country, said Smith.
“I can also say the distances within Australia can be a challenge, but having a trucking fleet can overcome that,” he said.
Lienert’s distribution network covers most agricultural regions of Australia, and the feed maker delivers directly to the farmers – a factor that plays into Alltech’s strategy of strengthening its support of agriculture at ‘the local level’, said Smith.
The company has also one of the largest technical teams in Australia, which provides on-farm services and livestock diet formulation advice throughout the country, he added.
The Roseworthy headquartered firm’s premix manufacturing plants are GMP accredited and it is licensed to manufacture veterinary products and controlled substances.
“Lienert has invested substantially in recent years, building state-of-the-art premix and supplement manufacturing facilities and also developing its distribution and sales networks with centers in Roseworthy, South Australia, Forbes in New South Wales, Bendigo in Victoria and Charlton in Queensland,” said Smith.
He said the business will continue to be run as Lienert Australia, with all existing employees set to be retained.