Wilbur-Ellis

Wilbur-Ellis, founded in 1921 and headquartered in the United States, is a family-owned, privately held marketer and distributor of agricultural products, specialty chemicals, and ingredients. The company employs more than 3,400 people across North America, serves customers on multiple continents, and is described as one of the largest privately held companies in the United States, with a multibillion-dollar revenue base.

Its venture capital arm, Cavallo Ventures, backs breakthrough technologies across agriculture, ingredients, and related markets. The investment activity sits within a wider portfolio of operating businesses: an Agribusiness division covering crop protection, crop nutrition, and seed development; the specialty chemicals business Nachurs Alpine Solutions, which pioneered the low-salt liquid starter fertilizer industry and is 70 years old; and AgVerdict®, an agricultural technology platform launched in 2010. Technical domains of interest span agricultural technology, crop protection, crop nutrition, seed development, specialty chemicals, and liquid fertilizer formulation.

The parent company began as a small import-export brokerage built on an initial investment of $5,000 and has grown through strategic acquisitions as well as internal development. It reports a tradition of promoting from within and of long-tenured employee relationships, with many staff building careers spanning decades.