Cargill Overview

Expect the unexpected ...

>50 % More than half of all Cargill employees live and work in developing countries. 

14 MILLION With the ability to sell more than 14 million tons annually, Cargill is one of the leading marketers of salt products.

400 MILLION By making animal feeds and customized nutrition solutions, Cargill reaches the tables of more than 400 million people each year.

TOP 10 Our Wahpeton, North Dakota, plant was named to IndustryWeek’s Top 10 Plants in North America for excellence in operations, including safety and innovation.

10 MILLION A gift of $10 million to CARE is funding a program to help 100,000 people in six countries lift themselves out of poverty.

5,000 From starches to seaweed extracts, Cargill’s unmatched portfolio of texturizing ingredients is put to use in more than 5,000 customer solutions worldwide.

75 Global Cargill locations use renewable energy such as biogas, landfill gas and biomass to lower our carbon footprint.

440 THOUSAND Metric tons of grain that can be stored in Cargill’s Baie Comeau grain transfer elevator, the largest in North America.

From a single seed in a farmer’s field to a dinner table halfway across the globe, Cargill brings ideas together to help satisfy the world’s needs. To get there, we collaborate with customers to create better products and services, streamline supply chains, save energy, reduce costs and move goods to every corner of the planet. We help farmers get higher yields from fewer acres, and store crops so they have greater flexibility in marketing their harvest. We give back to the communities where we do business through continuous efforts to improve nutrition, health and education, and protect natural resources. Every day, Cargill nourishes people and ideas—in both expected and unexpected ways.

“The way to ignite innovation across the board is to continue to build a culture where people value differences of opinion, differences of thought processes, and differences of approaches to problem solving.”

      Willard – Minneapolis, U.S. 

Cargill is a great place to work. Like you, each of our employees has a unique story, made only more human by their hopes and dreams, triumphs and defeats. More than half of our employees work outside the United States — 100,000 people. Each employee’s unique talents, perspectives and life experiences are critical to our success. That is why we celebrate individual differences at our company while maintaining a global culture. 

Embracing differences and making connections 

At the heart of Cargill’s culture is the desire to embrace our differences and make connections — not just down the hall or around the corner, but also across business units and around the globe — so that each employee can reach their full potential. 

Employees associate us most with integrity 

Ethics and integrity is the foundation of our nearly 150 years of existence. Ethical behavior, in fact, is so ingrained in our culture that employees associate Cargill most with integrity. We have identified key qualities and capabilities that we look for and expect in all employees — integrity is one of the characteristics.

Many of our employees have chosen to stay with us to build their careers. That’s because they have found a place where ideas are heard and opportunities are endless.

The Cargill Vision 

Our vision statement — embraced throughout Cargill — is essential for helping to guide our everyday decision-making for a company that operates in 67 countries. 

• Our purpose is to be the global leader in nourishing people. 
• Our mission is to create distinctive value. 
• Our approach is to be trustworthy, creative and enterprising 
• Our measures are engaged employees, satisfied customers, enriched communities and profitable growth. 

Our employees feel proud to be part of an organization with integrity and a strong sense of purpose. Customers want to do business with a company that follows through on its promises. Communities appreciate the contributions we make to their quality of life.

Cargill Volunteers

Every day, our employees and retirees around the world lend more than 100,000 hours of their time and talent to volunteer activities, typically in support of our charitable giving efforts and in alignment with our objective of helping to build sustainable communities where we live and work.

We seek to advance access to nutrition and health programming, support innovation in education, and protect our global natural resources.

Collectively and individually, we build schools and homes, mentor and tutor youth, educate farmers, clean up shorelines, feed hungry people and support economic development. Employees and retirees volunteer on an individual basis, with their co-workers in team activities, and through the Cargill Cares Councils.

Cargill Cares Councils 

Through 300 Cargill Cares Councils, our employees contribute thousands of volunteer hours and millions of charitable contributions that have a local impact.

When we look for people to join our team, we look for motivated individuals who want to embrace all that Cargill has to offer.

People who recognize the freedom they are given to make an impact and evolve the company. With this freedom comes a commitment to their work, to their communities and to using innovative thinking to bring our customers "what's next" in the marketplace. Maybe that's why our employees don't just stay with us for a year or two and move on. When you look around the halls of Cargill, you see people who have worked here for 20 and 30 years. It's because Cargill is a place where ideas are heard and opportunities are endless. 

  “I think great decisions come from great debates, and I think great debates are shaped by people that bring a variety of perspectives … Having the diversity that’s necessary for the quality of debate to be at the highest possible level is clearly a business imperative.” 

     Greg Page – Chairman and CEO 

What makes you unique? Is it your heritage, your beliefs, your personal style? 

No matter who you are, where you are from or how you like to work, you’re one of a kind. You have your own ideas, talents and experiences, and that’s what we value most about our employees. 

The world is becoming increasingly global, visible and transparent. As we continue to expand worldwide, our differences — from our culture and work habits to communication style and personal preferences — are becoming even more essential to our business strategy. 

That’s why we are working harder than ever to create an environment in which all employees feel valued and respected. A culture where differences don’t divide, but rather unite us to achieve high performance and a better, more interesting work experience. 

“Overall, development opportunities within Cargill have broadened my view on how I see things, and they allow me to get more out of my job.” 
     Gregor – Germany 

Following multiple roads

Our employees have the option of following multiple roads as they build their careers at Cargill. And part of your journey is the chance to enrich your skills through a wide range of learning and development opportunities. A multitude of options means there is little that stands in your way of achieving your fullest potential at Cargill. 

Developing leaders at all levels of the company 

We believe leaders are at all levels of the organization, and from all corners of the world. From executives to interns, sales managers to production workers, we seek people with these qualities: 

• Integrity: Leaders are honest, trustworthy, transparent and willing to admit their mistakes. 
• Conviction: Leaders stand by what they believe, articulate compelling visions and inspire others to take action. 
• Courage: Leaders are risk-takers who challenge the status quo and champion alternative viewpoints. They are not deterred by hardship, adversity or uncertainty. 

Environmental awards

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award 

Over the years, numerous Cargill initiatives and operations have received awards for environmental ingenuity and innovation. In 2007, Cargill’s BiOH® polyol – a bio-based substitute for petroleum-based foams used in furniture applications – received the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

West-Vlaams Milieucharter Sustainability Charter Award

Every year for the past 15 years, Cargill’s refined oil operations in Izegem, Belgium have been recognized for their commitment to the environment with the West-Vlaams Milieucharter Sustainability Charter award. The same award has been given to Cargill’s bottled oil operations for six consecutive years – often presented by leaders of the Flemish government.

Citizenship Company Award – Uberlandia, Brazil

Municipality leaders reward dedication to sustainable environmental management at Uberlandia grain and oilseed facilities in Brazil. These Cargill facilities have earned recognition from the Planning and Environmental Municipal Secretary for high performance in water treatment and recycling. 

Cargill’s industrial Water Waste Treatment program in Uberlandia succeeds in preventing water pollution by harnessing effective processes that occur naturally. Three of our plants – corn milling, grain and oilseed processing, and citric acid production – feed wastewater from production activities into a group of anaerobic lagoons onsite. Lagoons function to remove partial organic matter from water before it is sent into the anaerobic reactor for final treatment. Once processed in the reactor, water is ready for reuse at Uberlandia facilities.

Cargill is delighted to have been recognised by the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUoFST) and to have been named a recipient of the 2010 prestigious President's Award.

The President's Award is a new category at the IUFoST Global Food Industry Awards that recognises efforts to advance food science and technology for the benefit of all.

"We recognise the application of modern science and technology to sustain and develop traditional foods, to bring them to a wider number of consumers, while maintaining the character and benefits of the original traditional food product," stated Geoffrey Campbell-Platt, IUFoST President. "Cargill has been recognised for its food safety leadership, its collaboration and commitment to improving access to food and to ensuring food safety through education."

The President's Awards recognise and honour the support given to young scientists and students in allowing them to travel, to exchange ideas and to gain knowledge through meeting and interacting with leading international scientists and technologists. The President's Awards also recognise those that support international conferences on food safety in order to facilitate sharing best practice and improving food safety worldwide.

"We are extremely proud that our commitment to achieving transparent, harmonised and science-based global food systems has been recognised by the IUFoST," stated Luis Fernandez, head of Cargill's food technology applications in Europe, Middle East and Africa. "As a global leader in food and agriculture, we are working alongside governments, industry and NGOs in order to promote food security — enabling all people, at all times to have access to a sufficient amount of safe, nutritious and affordable food. We have also led the development and regulatory approval of safe, new ingredients such as Truvia™ rebiana and Barliv to meet our customers' innovation requirements for healthy foods."

Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award to Cargill Corn Milling unit

Becomes second Cargill business in four years to earn top Commerce Dept. recognition

Cargill Corn Milling--one of the world's leading producers of corn sweeteners and other value-added food, feed and fermentation products -- received the 2008 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the highest Presidential honor awarded to organizations for innovation and performance excellence, at a ceremony today with Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, at the JW Marriott in Washington D.C.

This marks the second time in four years, and the third time overall, that a Cargill business has earned the Baldrige. Cargill's egg processing business - then called Sunny Fresh and now known as Cargill Kitchen Solutions - received Baldrige awards in 1999 and 2005.

"More than 2,400 employees across nine plants, 11 distribution terminals and various other locations played a role in receiving this award," said Cargill Corn Milling President Alan Willits. "No doubt the Baldrige examiners found hard working, creative and innovative people everywhere they looked across our business. We are proud, honored and extremely excited to be given this prestigious distinction."