Pictured above: Agmark’s Richard Hagemeyer (left) and LBMC’s John Litchfield swap stories from their long, successful journey together.

Although Richard Hagemeyer, cofounder and owner of Agmark, has spent the last 40-plus years strategically growing his commodities trading company into an international shipping company, he still has to pause when asked to talk about trading commodities.

“Most people simply don’t understand commodities,” Hagemeyer says with a chuckle. “It’s just not that easy for most people to grasp. But that difficulty is why we aligned with LBMC back in 1988. Our bank at that time thought trading commodities meant we were gamblers. We needed an audit to help the bank understand that we were hedging, not speculating.”

One person who has had little trouble grasping the ins and outs of Agmark’s business is LBMC’s John Litchfield. Over the course of four decades and countless boardroom and back porch strategy sessions, he’s helped Hagemeyer navigate the ups and downs of a complex, changing logistical and regulatory landscape. It all started with a tip Hagemeyer received from a very reliable source.

“My father, a CPA, gave me recommendations, and I already knew [LBMC co-founder] Mike Cain,” Hagemeyer says. “Being a small company ourselves, it was important to me to have somebody I could work with that I knew and trusted, but also wasn’t a giant firm.”

Today, Agmark Logistics stands as a global leader in intermodal bulk liquid transport, delivering innovative solutions to and from any place on earth. They work with some of the world’s largest food and beverage companies, shipping hundreds of commodities like orange juice or tequila, utilizing their fleet of proprietary ISO tank containers to seamlessly ship loads interchangeably between trucks, rail, and ocean carriers.

As Agmark has steadily innovated and grown, LBMC has done the same, expanding its range of services to accommodate the client’s needs. Combining a high level of professionalism and expertise with an entrepreneurial spirit, LBMC has consistently delivered the kind of innovative solutions that allow clients like Agmark to focus on running their business.

“LBMC continued to develop solutions that were as good or better than what we could do ourselves,” Hagemeyer says. “Over the years, they have added very significant services to their portfolio. Today, they have the capabilities to do all kinds of things that allow us to focus on our markets while we let them do the things they do best.”

For Agmark, LBMC’s services have ranged from audit work, federal and state tax preparation integrated with Agmark’s overseas companies, business valuations, payroll, accounting software, personal trust and estate planning, and estate tax reporting.

“Every person at LBMC has been high quality,” Hagemeyer says. “You can tell that they take pride in their company and their work. You can sense that LBMC values its people, and that commitment shines through in the work they do.”

Agmark, like many of LBMC’s legacy clients, is family owned. Hagemeyer established the company with his brother Duncan in 1984, leveraging their complementary expertise in transportation and marketing to create a new kind of firm in the era of deregulation. Accounting duties in those fledgling days were handled by Richard Hagemeyer’s wife, Carole. As the company grew, so did the family.

“I was there in the beginning when we worked out of our home,” Carole recalls. “When LBMC came along, I was expecting our second child. After that, I kind of retired from the business after hiring our bank auditor to replace me. She is now our VP of Finance, and our controller is an LBMC alum.”

With both siblings long since grown and installed at Agmark, their dad has stepped away from day-to-day operations. The Hagemeyers are currently busy creating an enduring legacy of their own. With its history of successful succession planning, LBMC has been especially helpful as Agmark transitions into a new era. For Richard Hagemeyer, the kind of long-term care and trust is what made all the difference.

“LBMC has always been available,” he says. “Regardless of what’s happening, whether things are going right or wrong, it pays to have trusted advisors at your side that fully understand what you do. When you need them, they’re there. LBMC has been an integral part of our success.”