Board and Organisational Changes During the period, the Board has reviewed the Group’s organisational structure and is implementing a number of changes that will support future growth and investment plans. These changes include the creation of


WYNNSTAY GROUP PLC TRAD- ING UPDATE & ORGANISATION-


AL CHANGE The Board of Wynnstay, the agricultural supplies group, is pleased to provide the following update on trading for the financial year ended 31 October 2020. As an essential supplier to the farm-


ing community, the Group has continued to maintain its operations across all its activi- ties during the recent ‘fire-break’ lockdown in Wales and since the introduction of new coronavirus-related restrictions in England, which took effect on 5 November 2020.


Trading Update Overall trading since June, when the Group reported interim results, has been stronger than anticipated, especially in September and October. This is across both the Ag- riculture and Specialist Agricultural Mer- chanting Divisions. As a result, the Board now expects that underlying Group pre-tax profit* for the 2020 financial year will be significantly ahead of current market fore- casts.


While the anticipated difficulties in Ara-


ble activities materialised in the second half of the financial year, trading across other activities has been resilient. As expected, the poor planting conditions in autumn 2019 resulted in a historically low yield from the 2020 UK cereal harvest. Wheat volumes declined by an estimated 40% on the pre- vious year, limiting volumes available for the Group’s grain trading operation. Seed sales were also lower, with farmers using last year’s unplanted product. However, the Group has benefited from better-than- expected feed sales in September and Oc- tober. Sales from the Specialist Agricultural Merchanting depot network also performed well, helped by a stronger red meat sector. More generally, the Board believes


that the outlook for agriculture and farm commodities in the UK remains positive de- spite uncertainties around Brexit and that the Group is well placed to take advantage of the opportunities that are expected to present themselves. Non-recurring charges in the Group’s


results for the financial year will include rationalisation costs associated with the closure of the Youngs Animal Feeds distri- bution centre in Huyton, Merseyside and a specialist agricultural merchanting depot in Salisbury, Wiltshire, as well as the closure of the seed plant in Selby, Yorkshire follow- ing its lease expiry. *underlying Group pre-tax profit excludes non-recurring items, share based remuner- ation payments and adds back the Group’s share of tax incurred by joint ventures.


new roles with new areas of responsibility, as well as revised reporting lines. The new organisational structure will


not include the Board position of Agricul- tural Director. Andrew Evans will therefore step down from the Board with effect from 1 December 2020. However, he remains a key member of the senior management team and will take up his new role of Group Operations and Feed Director and lead the reorganisation at senior executive level. The Directors would like to thank Andrew for his valued contribution to the Board and for his continued commitment to the growth of the business. The Board also looks forward to receiving his ongoing input at senior execu- tive level. Further details of the reorganisation


will be provided with the Group’s full year results.


EVONIK CREATES NEW DIGITAL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE WITH ITS NEW E-BUSINESS PORTAL


MYAMINO Evonik is expanding its customer service offering for its animal nutrition customers with a new digital portal called ‘myAMINO’. Through the new e-business portal, Evonik has brought together its digital customer activities and services and added two web stores. myAMINO will become the first digital point of contact for customers, making interacting with Evonik as convenient and as efficient as possible. The launch of the myAMINO


e-business portal marks an important milestone in Evonik’s digitalization strategy to strengthen its Animal Nutrition business which is part of Evonik’s life science division Nutrition & Care.By offering a digital customer experience, Evonik is taking the next logical step in the implementation of its system house strategy for sustainable animal nutrition - an innovation growth field in Nutrition & Care. “Fostering e-business is one of our


main strategic goals,” says Dr. Dirk Hoehler, head of Sales & eBusiness in the Animal Nutrition business line. “We want to make it as convenient as possible for our customers to contact us, find relevant information and process their orders”. myAMINO offers customer access to


products, services, information, training, contacts, partners, and order management for Animal Nutrition. Customers simply register on the portal to become activated users. Then they can log in at any time - and browse, order, call up analysis data, or track delivery data, etc.


The online shopping on myAMINO


allows customers to search Evonik’s core portfolio, for products like MetAMINO®


by


various categories, for example by type of packaging or animal species. They can thus obtain an overview of the range of products and services geared to their individual needs and place orders around the clock. A second webshop makes it possible


to order complementary products and services, such as laboratory equipment for amino acid analysis, online. The registration process is straightforward and payment is possible via PayPal or credit card. Intuitive navigation, all the relevant information in one place, fast reaction times as well as efficiency are crucial for positive customer feedback and high usage. https://myamino.evonik.com


CROSTON ENGINEERING 45TH


ANNIVERSARY Croston Engineering celebrates its 45th


anni-


versary in 2021. Initially formed as a consul- tancy by Alf Croston and his wife, Margaret, the company quickly developed into the de- sign, manufacture, installation and servicing of Bulk Storage and Handling systems for clients throughout the UK including many household names. The company are particularly apprecia-


tive that its very first client continues to use its services on a regular basis. As an approved Safe Contractor and


SPA Food Passport holder, the company is fully compliant with the requirements of DSEAR/ATEX Explosion Regulations and is available to modify and/or extend existing systems to meet your requirements.


THE 2020 EDGAR PYE RESEARCH


SCHOLARS. The Edgar Pye Research Trust has, due to the generosity of its sponsors, awarded two Scholarships of £2000 each for 2020. The scholars are: Sophie Mahendran, Royal Veterinary


College, whose research topic is “The effect of calf size on feeding behaviours and social interactions within large groups fed on auto- matic milk machines.” Jorge Peinado, Glasgow University,


whose research topic is “Faecal dynamic metaproteomics: a non-invasive strategy to assess the effect of novel feed compounds on gut barrier function in broiler chickens.” The Society of Feed Technologists


(SFT) looks forward to the presentation of their research at its conferences in the next 18 months. The Edgar Pye Research Scholarship


Trust was established in 1989 to perpetuate Edgar’s memory through Research Scholar- ships for research relevant to the UK and Irish Feed Industry. The trustees are ap- pointed from the SFT membership.


PAGE 58 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021 FEED COMPOUNDER


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