Bunge moving global headquarters out of White Plains

Bunge, the worldwide agricultural commodities company, is moving its global headquarters from White Plains to the St. Louis, Missouri, metropolitan area. In 1998, it moved its global headquarters from São Paulo, Brazil, to what then was the Westchester Financial Center at 50 Main St. The company occupies three floors in the building.

“While St. Louis is already an important hub for Bunge and our current North American operations, the city is also home to a number of food, agriculture, animal health and plant science organizations and customers,” CEO Gregory A. Heckman said. “Moving the global headquarters to a location where Bunge has a major business presence is a big step forward in shifting the company’s operating model to align around a more efficient, streamlined global business structure.”

A spokesman for Bunge told the Business Journal that there are approximately 150 employees in White Plains and that the personnel handle all of the corporate governance matters. The spokesman said that the company had reached out to White Plains, Westchester County and New York state officials to let them know in advance that the announcement of the move would be coming.

The company said that it is in the early planning stages of the transition to the St. Louis area and that it expects to have the move completed by the end of the second quarter of 2020.   

“We are grateful to have called White Plains home for many years, and now look forward to the new growth and development opportunities which our expanded St. Louis presence will provide,” Heckman said.

Bunge is heavily involved in sourcing, processing and supplying oilseed and grain products and ingredients. Founded in 1818, it has 31,000 employees worldwide and operates more than 360 port terminals, oilseed processing plants, grain silos, and food and ingredient production and packaging facilities around the world.