Alltech and Keenan - Stronger together

We caught up with our president Dr. Pearse Lyons to find out why he is so excited about the acquisition of Keenan, a leading farming solutions manufacturer, in his home country of Ireland:

First of all, we are really delighted to welcome Keenan to the Alltech family. Keenan is joining a family business — a business that is not for sale and will not go public.  This coming together of our two companies is a win for both our teams.

I see this as a coming together of like-minded people. And, what makes it positive for both companies are the synergies that can occur. What makes it positive for both companies is what we can bring to farmers all around the world, with our unique technologies.

The Keenan team is going to get the benefits of our experience from having a presence in more than 120 countries around the world.  We can immediately go to our friends — and Alltech is a company of friends — in 120 countries and share the news about the Keenan “Green Machine.”  Ironically, quite a number of our colleagues not only have experience with Keenan machines, but they have actually worked for and with Keenan in places as far away as China, Australia, Canada and the Middle East.   One of our researchers did his Ph.D. on the Keenan mixer.

Keenan is on-farm and their team provides nutritional solutions direct to the farmer. Keenan and Alltech together can deliver greater value to our global farming customers with a wider variety of technological solutions. Keenan’s manufacturing strength and technological know-how provides us with a winning combination for delivering greater farm efficiency and profitability direct to our farming customers. This is a coming together of like-minded people! I firmly believe that together we are stronger.

When a local company is purchased by a global company, sometimes customers might have concerns that their experience will change.  Yes, there will be change.  We will integrate and realign synergies and get back to full performance once again in Borris, Co. Carlow. Production lines will ramp back up to full speed. Customers will receive a renewed level of support and service. We will bring positive change.

Change in life for most people creates uncertainty.  Buddha once said, “Change is never painful, only the resistance to change is painful.”  In this case, however, there is no resistance, so change will come easily.  Our acquisition of Keenan brings a change that I believe people in Borris will find very positive. Keenan is becoming part of the Alltech family and, in fact, Alltech is becoming part of the Keenan family. This is fantastic and I can’t wait for this positive outcome to play itself out in the marketplace. All I can say is this is positive.  This is just two like-minded groups coming together. We are so excited, and we see this as an opportunity of a lifetime. Welcome to our family, Keenan!