History
The First 75 Years
1948–68
Grain and fertilizer trading between Europe and the U.S.
1948
The U.S. launches the Marshall Plan, designed to rebuild the European economy.
1948: 16 September
Ameropa is founded and registered in Basel, Switzerland. Arthur Zivy (1882–1968) and his son Felix Zivy (1918–2010) each own 50% of it. Imports of U.S. Grains to Europe commence, supplied by C. B. Fox Company of New Orleans. First fertilizer shipments: potash from Eastern Germany to Japan.
1949: 23 June
Austrian subsidiary Prochaska & Cie is registered. Exports of Austrian nitrogen fertilizers to the U.S. begin.
1952
Ameropa acquires Jutex AG, a cotton yarn trading company in Basel. Franz Wild joins company management and is placed in charge of the Brazilian market.
1952
Prochaska starts importing potash from East Germany and the Soviet Union into Austria and Italy, securing exclusivity contracted to last until 1993.
1953
Prochaska moves downstream into grain and fertilizer wholesale and retail. It diversifies into seeds, plant protection chemicals, agricultural machinery, and other products.
1957
Alois Koch joins the management of Ameropa.
1958
Ampro AG is founded with offices in Rome, Buenos Aires and Rotterdam. Imports of Argentinian grains into Europe begin.
1958
First imports of Brazilian soybeans into Europe.
1962
Ampro is dissolved and replaced with Vigor AG, which becomes the exclusive agent in Europe of Asociacion de Cooperativas Argentinas (ACA).
1965
Prochaska acquires bankrupt grain and fertilizer retailer Ochsner & Pahr, which comes with Römerquelle. The Römerquelle wholesale distribution center in Vienna some few years later.
1968
Arthur Zivy, co-founder of Ameropa, dies at age 86.
1969–89
Diversification into local activities in Switzerland, Austria and France.
1970
Ameropa starts exporting potash from the Soviet Union to Brazil. By 1990, Ameropa becomes Brazil΄s largest supplier of potash.
1970
Ameropa acquires, together with Peter Cremer from Hamburg, French grain retailer Compagnie Française des Céréales as a first step toward replicating Prochaska & Cie., with its diversified wholesale and retail activities, in France.
1973
The U.S. abandons the gold standard. The U.S. dollar drops and continues to decline.
1974
Ameropa diversifies into local steel trading with Vulkan-Stahl AG in Switzerland and steel processing with Vissal S.A. in neighbouring France. Nicole Miescher-Zivy joins Ameropa as manager of Vissal.
1974
Nikki Lauda celebrates his victory at the Formula 1 Race in Monaco with Römerquelle sparkling mineral water. Brand recognition in Austria soars from 54% to 96% overnight.
1976
Société Industrielle pour une Agriculture Moderne in Normandy, France is acquired. It represents the second step to replicate Prochaska & Cie. in France. Quick diversification into local grain milling, compound feed, irrigation and other activities occurs.
1980
Andreas Zivy joins Ameropa and works in various roles in France, Austria and Switzerland.
1984
Charles Waffenschmidt takes over the Brazilian desk from Franz Wild.
1986
Ameropa abandons its plans of duplicating Prochaska & Cie. in France and sells its companies to a French coop. Instead, it sets up an import office for fertilizers in Rouen, which revives its nitrogen-trading activities.
1987
Austria decides to join the European Union by 1995 and undertakes a sweeping reform of its agricultural markets, seriously affecting Prochaska & Cie. and its peers.
1988
The world΄s first biodiesel plant, in which Prochaska & Cie. owns a one-third stake, is inaugurated.
1989
The Berlin Wall falls, the Iron Curtain collapses, the Soviet Union implodes.
1989
Ameropa and Sojuzagropromexport form the joint venture company Fersam AG in Binningen to sell urea to Western markets.
Beat Ruprecht is appointed Managing Director.
1990 – 2010
Return to international grain and fertilizer trading roots and growth into a global trading company.
1990 – 1996
Ameropa starts trading grains and fertilizers in Central Eastern Europe and opens offices in the former East Germany, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Belarus, Russia, Turkey, China and Brazil.
1992
Ameropa and Togliatti Azot form the joint venture company T+A Farm Corporation.
1994
Andreas Zivy is appointed Group CEO.
1995
Ameropa acquires French grain and fertilizer retailer Tessier SA and renames it Agrinégoce SA.
1997
Ameropa establishes Nitrochem AG to market ammonia and urea from Togliatti Azot.
1997
Ameropa is a founder of Kolmar AG, a leading global trader of petrochemicals.
1998
A stake in Hungarian grain originator MG Produkt is acquired.
2001
Ameropa opens a grain office in Lausanne with a team specialized in shipping milling wheat to Africa.
2001
The Ameropa Foundation is established to manage company charitable activities.
2002
A 50% stake in German nitrogen fertilizer factory SKW Piesteritz is acquired.
2003
Römerquelle is sold to Coca-Cola after it has been the market leader in Austria and repeatedly surprised the market with innovations: screw caps in 1973, still water in 1978, the split box in 1987, flavoured water in 1992, the first refillable PET bottle worldwide in 1997, and the ΄Emotion΄ functional drinks in 2001.
Aerial view of the Römerquelle plant in Edelstal, Burgenland, in the Eastern part of Austria.
2003
Ameropa moves into its new headquarters built by Herzog & de Meuron.
2004
Fertilizer trader Wittraco in Hamburg is acquired, adding phosphates to the product portfolio and making Ameropa΄s geographical coverage global.
2004
Ameropa North America is established in Tampa, Florida.
2005
Ameropa takes a one-third stake in a greenfield urea plant constructed in China. Huarui starts production in April 2007.
2006
A joint venture with Impact Australia is undertaken that becomes a fully owned subsidiary after Hifert Australia is acquired in 2010.
2007
A stake in Serbian grain originator Konzul is acquired.
2008
Ameropa Asia Ltd. is set up with a fertilizer team, joined by the feedstuff team in 2010.
2008
Comcereal Constanta in Romania – today known as Ameropa Grains, is acquired.
2011
The quest for sustainability.
2012
The Black Sea desk is set up in Lausanne for selling grains originated in the Danube.
2012
The Romanian nitrogen factory Azomures and its subsidiary Chimpex, a port operator in Constanta, are acquired.
2014
The Arena do Morro in Natal, is inaugurated. It is a sport and cultural center in Natal endowed by the Ameropa Foundation, built by Herzog & de Meuron.
2015
The extensive revamping of Azomures is completed: European environmental standards are met and a 10-year operating permit is obtained.
2015
Ameropa sells Agrinégoce for strategic reasons.
2017
The new world-class, state-of-the-art port silo at Chimpex, with a capacity of 200,000 tons, is inaugurated.
2018
A minority stake in Romanian grain originators Promat and Agroind is acquired and increased to a 70% stake in 2021.
2020
William Dujardin is appointed Group CEO.
2020
Trade volumes reach a peak of 16m tons of fertilizers and 16m tons of grains, oilseeds, and feedstuffs.
2022
The Kamwyoka Playground, endowed by the Ameropa Foundation, is inaugurated in Kampala, Uganda.
2022
Work on both a group and a sustainability strategy is completed and will be enacted in the coming years.
2023
Ameropa celebrates its 75th anniversary.
