Careers at CF Industries
Mission
CF Industries develops and produces various fertiliser products that are designed to facilitate and support the operations of a range of agricultural and industrial businesses.
Business segments
CF Industries organises its operations into six business segments. The first five of these segments relate to the production of certain nitrogen-based fertiliser products:
- Ammonia Products;
- Granular Urea Products;
- Urea Ammonium Nitrate Solution Products;
- Ammonium Nitrate Products;
- Other Products, which includes the production of includes diesel exhaust fluid, urea liquor, nitric acid and compound fertiliser products.
In the third quarter of 2015, CF Industries changed its reportable segment structure to separate Ammonium Nitrate Products from the Other segment, as it increased in significance as a result of the acquisition of CF Fertilisers UK.
CF Industries sixth operating segment is Phosphate Products.
History
CF Industries was founded in 1946. It initially operated as Central Farmers Fertiliser Company, comprising a federation of regional agricultural supply cooperatives that supplied fertiliser to its various members. The Company moved into commercial manufacturing in 1954, purchasing an interest in a nitrogen manufacturing complex. A year later the Company began construction of a phosphate complex in Idaho. CF Industries continued to develop its commercial production operations, including an entry into the potash business.
In 1970 the Company changed its name from Central Farmers Fertiliser Company to CF Industries. In the early 2000s the Company demutualised, and in 2005 the Company listed shares on the New York Stock Exchange, raising $660 million in its initial public offering. CF Industries has substantial operations in the US, its principal market, as well as an international presence, and employs more close to 3,000 employees worldwide.
CF Industries is one of the largest companies in its industry by revenue, generating $4.31 billion in 2015. The Company has a current market capitalisation of $6.05 billion.
Benefits at CF Industries





Business model of CF Industries
Customer Segments
CF Industries serves a range of agricultural and industrial customers. The Company’s principal customers are:
- Cooperatives, comprising regional agricultural marketing and supply cooperatives, and community farming projects;
- Independent fertiliser distributors, including independent sales agents and distributors;
- Farmers, comprising individual farmers and commercial agricultural producers; and
- Industrial entities, including chemicals producers and metals companies.
In 2015 none of CF Industries’s customers accounted for more than 10% of the Company’s consolidated net sales for the year.
CF Industries’s principal market is the US, with domestic US customers accounting for around 80% of the Company’s total 2015 sales. The majority of the Company’s remaining sales are made to customers in Canada; however, CF Industries does serve customers across Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America.
Value Propositions
CF Industries provides value to its customers in the following ways:
- The quality of its products, with the Company providing high-quality, industry-leading products that are utilised by numerous high-profile customers across the US and abroad;
- Its efficient and reliable production processes, with the Company operating state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in the US, Canada, and the UK, and implementing effective logistic and distribution channels for on-time delivery;
- Its safety practices, with the Company having a positive safety record and implementing thorough environmental and safety protocols; and
- Its commitment to innovation, with the Company devoting a significant portion of its funds to the development of new and innovative products and processes.
Channels
CF Industries operates a website at www.cfindustries.com, through which it provides information on its various products, activities, and corporate developments. The Company, however, does not operate an online sales channel.
The vast majority of CF Industries’s sales are made through its own internal marketing and sales force, which is organised both product segment and by geographic region. The Company operates a network of offices and facilities, with the Company making sales across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East.
The operations of CF Industries’s in-house sales force is supported by a network of third-party channel partners, including independent sales agents and fertiliser distributors.
Customer Relationships
CF Industries does not make any of its products available to customers on a self-service basis. Instead, customers must consult directly with the Company’s relevant in-house sales team, taking time to agree the terms of a mutually beneficial sales contract. CF Industries seeks to establish long-term relationships form its customers, with a view to securing recurring business, often agreeing multi-year sales contracts.
CF Industries provides customer support services to its clients throughout the lifespan of its sales agreements, offering personal care to existing customers in relation to production and delivery processes. Potential and existing customers are able to contact the Company’s sales and support staff directly over the phone, via email, or by mail, receiving a personal response to queries and enquiries.
Customers are able to access information on the Company’s activities, products and performance through its Insights and News portal. They are also able to interact directly with the Company through its social media accounts with LinkedIn and YouTube.
Key Activities
CF Industries is a manufacturer and distributor of nitrogen fertiliser and other nitrogen products, primarily serving agricultural cooperatives, farmers, and industrial companies across the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East. The Company provides a broad range of nitrogen fertiliser products through six product-focused operating segments, namely ammonia, granular urea, urea ammonium nitrate solution, and ammonium nitrate.
It also operates segment dedicated to the production of other nitrogen products such as diesel exhaust fluid, urea liquor, nitric acid and aqua ammonia, which are sold primarily to its industrial customers, as well as compound fertiliser products. The Company also generates some revenue through the production and sale of phosphate products; however, CF Industries appears to be exiting this business.
Key Partners
CF Industries collaborates with various partner companies throughout the process of developing, manufacturing and distributing its products. These partners can be categorised broadly as:
- Supplier Partners, comprising suppliers of tools, resources, technology and services that support the Company’s development and manufacturing operations;
- Channel Partners, comprising independent sales agents, and agricultural and fertiliser distributors;
- Joint Venture Partners, comprising a range of companies – principally agricultural, fertilisers and financial companies – that collaborate with the Company on various projects and regional operations through jointly-owned entities; and
- Strategic and Alliance Partners, comprising a range of companies with which the Company shares resources and collaborate son joint projects.
CF industries also partners with a range of industry bodies and regulatory organisations, including Agricultural Industry Confederation, British Compressed Gas Association, Energy Intensive Users Group, and National Farmers Union.
Key Resources
CF Industries’s key resources are its technologies and intellectual properties, its manufacturing infrastructure, its supply chain, its sales and distribution channels – including storage and logistics facilities, its partnerships, and its personnel.
CF Industries owns or leases six nitrogen fertiliser manufacturing facilities in the US, and two nitrogen manufacturing complexes in the UK, as well as a network of distribution terminals. The Company also has an interest in a nitrogen fertiliser manufacturing facility through Terra Nitrogen Company, and an interest in an ammonia production plant through Point Lisas Nitrogen.
Cost Structure
CF Industries incurs costs in relation to the development of its products and processes, the operation of its manufacturing and production facilities, the purchase of supplies, the operation of its sales and distribution channels, the management of its partnerships, and the retention of its personnel.
In 2015 CF Industries accrued selling, general and administrative expenses – including the payment of salaries and benefits to its 2,800 full-time employees and 100 part-time employees – amounted to $169.8 million. The Company also accrued transaction costs – attributable primarily to consulting and legal services associated with various strategic agreements – totaling $56.9 million.
Revenue Streams
CF Industries generates revenue through the production and sale of various nitrogen-based fertiliser products, as well as, to a lesser degree, of phosphate products. This includes the sale of ammonia products, granular urea products, urea ammonium nitrate solution products, ammonium nitrate products, diesel exhaust fluid, urea liquor, nitric acid and compound fertiliser products.
In 2015 CF Industries generated total net sales of $4.31 billion, down on the $4.74 billion recorded by the Company in 2014. The Company attributed this decrease to a general decline in product sales. The Company’s largest revenue generator is its ammonia products division, which generated sales in 2015 of $1.52 billion. This was followed by the Company’s urea ammonium nitrate solution division which generated annual sales in the amount of $1.48 billion.
Our team
info: Tony (“Will”) has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of CF Industries since 2014. He also serves as a member of the Company’s Board of Directors, and as the President and Chief Executive Officer of subsidiary company Terra Nitrogen GP. Will joined CF Industries in 2007 as the company’s first Vice President of Corporate Development. He was promoted to the position of Vice President of Manufacturing and Distribution in 2009, and was later made Senior Vice President of Manufacturing and Distribution in 2012. Will began his career as a consultant at Boston Consulting Group. He went on to serve in spells as Vice President of Business Development at Sears, Roebuck and Company, and as Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development at Fort James Corporation. Prior to joining CF Industries, Will served as a partner at Accenture.
info: Dennis (“Kelleher”) has served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at CF Industries since 2011. Kelleher began his career in 1986 as a senior accountant at Arthur Andersen, where he stayed for three years. He moved to Amoco-BP in 1990, serving in various financial and commercial positions before being named Senior Manager of Mergers and Acquisitions at BP. Kelleher served in a range of positions at BP over the course of eight years, including spells as Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer of BP Upstream, Chief Financial Officer of BP North Africa, and Chief Financial Officer of BP Southern Cone.
info: Adam joined CF Industries as Vice President of Corporate Development in 2013. Prior to joining CF Industries, Hall served as Executive Director of Corporate Strategy and Development at Bunge, leading global strategy, and mergers and acquisitions. Prior to his time at Bunge, Hall worked at a number of companies, including Bain and Company and LEK Consulting, in a range of international roles. He began his career as a corporate attorney with the law firm of Clayton Utz in Perth, Australia.