Ingredion

Logo as CPC International (1997)

The company, which began as Corn Products Refining Co. and later as "CPC International," was founded by the merger of leading US corn refiners in 1906.[9] The company was incorporated in New Jersey.[10] It supplied the raw materials for Argo cornstarch and Mazola corn oil.[11]

In 1981, CPC formed a partnership with Texaco to produce bioethanol at a plant in Pekin, Illinois.[12] In 1995, the plant was sold to Williams Companies and, in 2003, continued as Aventine Renewable Energy.[13] 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.[14]

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.[9][15] Cerestar is sold in 2002 to Cargill for $1.14 billion having a turnover of $1.56 billion in 2000.[16]

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 CPC International renaming itself Bestfoods, focusing in packaged food products, and spun-off the corn-refining business into Corn Products International.[17] Bestfoods was acquired for $24.3 billion in 2000 by Unilever.[18]

In October 2010, CPI acquired starch part of National Starch from Dutch paints firm AkzoNobel for $1.3 billion in cash.[19] It also took on pension and employee benefit liabilities.[20][21] National Starch had a turn-over of $1.2 billion in 2009 with 2250 employees operating 11 plants in 8 countries.[22] 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.[23] National Starch was founded in 1895 as an adhesive company and expanded in 1939 into the starch production with the acquisition of Piel Brothers Starch Co.[24]

As of 2012, Ingredion has moved up to become a Fortune 500 company [25][26] and was renamed Ingredion.[27]

In 2015 they acquired Penford Corp for $340 million [28] and then Kerr Concentrates for $100 million.[29] 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.[30] In 2016 they acquired Shandong Huanong Specialty Corn Development Co, a corn starch manufacturing plant in China.[31] Then in 2017, they acquired TIC Gums as well as Sun Flour Industry Co, a Thai rice starch and flour company.[28] In 2018 Ingredion began a joint venture with Verdient Foods to increase its investment in plant-based proteins,[32] and also began manufacturing and producing Astraea Allulose.[33] In 2019, Ingredion led the series B venture capital raising for The EVERY Company, a company developing an animal(chicken)-free egg white protein based on fermentation.[34] They also acquired 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.[35][36]

Ingredion acquired PureCircle in 2020, a stevia sweetners maker,[37] with Ingredion owning 75% of the new subsidiary.[38] That year they also began marketing Canadian company NorQuin's quinoa products.[39] It also invested $200 million into plant-based meat substitutes.[40] Ingredion also began development on a plant-based protein manufacturing plant in South Sioux City, Nebraska.[41] In 2020, Ingredion also acquired Verdient Foods.[42] Then in 2021, the company acquired Katech[43] and entered into a partnership with Amyris to offer it's fermentation-derived Reb M sweetener.[44]

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.[45] The combined company employs approximately 11,000 people in North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific[46] and operates 44 manufacturing facilities in 14 countries.

The company was named the “World's Most Ethical Company” in 2014 by the Ethisphere Institute.[47] Ingredion has also been listed as one of Fortune magazine's “most admired companies”.[48]