Mountain Mudd, CHS enter venture
Western Business News Online
December 1, 2006
Billings-based espresso company partners with a Fortune 500 company
CHS Inc., a leading energy and grain-based foods company, announced Oct. 26 it has formed a joint venture with Mountain Mudd LLC, which operates drive-thru specialty coffee kiosks in 22 states.
Under the agreement, CHS will partner with the owners, Brenda and Dennis Burkhartsmeier, who will continue to manage and operate the business in Billings. Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed.
Mountain Mudd Espresso was formed 13 years ago and has more than 70 branded specialty coffee kiosks, the largest in the sector in the nation.
“We believe this is an excellent opportunity to enter this growing niche market,” said Leon Westbrock, executive vice president of energy for CHS. “Our involvement with Mountain Mudd kiosks provides a unique way for both convenience stores and other businesses to expand their retail offerings.”
“The specialty coffee market is one of the fastest growing food-service segments and is projected to expand by 7 percent annually,” said Brenda Burkhartsmeier, president of Mountain Mudd Espresso. “This joint venture with CHS will help us reach the rapidly growing drive-thru portion of the specialty coffee market.”
A Fortune 500 company, CHS is owned by farmers, ranchers and cooperatives from the Great Lakes to the Pacific Northwest and from the Canadian border to Texas, along with thousands of preferred stockholders. It operates petroleum refineries/pipelines and markets and distributes Cenex brand energy products and renewable fuels, along with agronomic inputs and livestock feed to rural America. CHS is listed on the NASDAQ at CHSCP.