Rotam's Innovative Solutions Boosted Its Industry Leading Performance Growth

Editor's Note:

Rotam Global AgroSciences' sales increased by 21% year on year in 2014, largely exceeded industry's average growth rate of 4.5%. Sales in Latin America, the largest regional market of Rotam, increased 31% in 2014, representing 46% of the total. Under the background of the whole Latin American agrochemical market showing weakness, and multinational giants continuing to extend the market share, Rotam was still able to achieve sustainable high growth. What are the reasons behind the growth performance? AgroPages has recently held a dialogue with Mr. James Bistrow, Rotam's Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Jean-Michel Duhamel, Rotam's Chief Commercial Officer and Mr. Ronaldo Pereira, Rotam's Regional Head in Brazil, to reveal its way of development under such adverse (market) circumstances.

Perfect platform system and market development strategy support global growth

Rotam Global AgroSciences Limited (RGAL) has two major production bases in China, Taiwan and nine operation centers including China, Taiwan, Asia Pacific, India, Europe/Middle East/ Africa, NAFTA, Latin America North, Brazil and Argentina. Its products are sold in over 65 countries. It has four key business areas, covering Latin America, China, NAFTA and Europe. Among them, according to its 2014 financial data, Latin America is the largest regional market, with sales accounting for about 46% of the total, followed by China (29.3%), NAFTA (10.2%) and Europe (9.1%).

Rotam Global AgroSciences’ sales increased by 21% Y-O-Y in 2014, largely exceeded the industry’s average growth rate of 4.5%. Rotam’s Chief Executive Officer, James Bristow explained that Rotam’s growth is the result of decades of planning and investment in infrastructure, people and processes to build an integrated platform supporting a global branded product business. From 1992 to 2006 was the construction of the basic skeleton with the business model only getting traction with sales picking up and delivering the performance growth plan from 2007. The company prides itself on regulatory excellence, IP excellence and R&D capabilities from process chemistry through to agronomy, then linked with integrated manufacturing and brand driven market access form the strategic pillars of the company. These strategic pillars co-exist to maintain the sustainable rapid growth of the company whilst at the same time looking to improve efficiency coming from a scale of economy and process optimization.

"Another key element for sustainability is to continue to evolve the applied R&D technology that ensures a differentiated value added product pipeline. This allows Rotam to respond with product solutions, to be more responsive to agronomic demand, to meet specific agronomic needs around the world. That’s how Rotam keeps ‘Evolving’," said James Bristow. “Rotam has spent great efforts to develop the major driving crop protection markets while keeping a balance of seasonality between the Northern Hemisphere and the South Hemisphere. This biaxial marketing strategy can ensure Rotam enjoys the full advantage of complementary seasonality and reduces sales risks.”

In order to support and facilitate company’s sustainable growth, Rotam has been strengthening the channel cooperation with other companies. Jean-Michel Duhamel, Rotam’s Chief Commercial Officer, stresses: “We are quite active in cooperation in Latin America. Some companies have seen Rotam as a valuable way to penetrate new markets, producing and distributing multinational companies’ products in many countries. It is a win-win situation: our partners can count on our market access while Rotam can broaden the product portfolio providing advanced technology and new chemistry to fill the gap to serve our customers’ need.”

Abundant product lines support sustainable and rapid growth in Latin America

Rotam’s sales increased 31% in Latin America in 2014. The growth was mainly driven by a growing portfolio of high quality products, a strong focus on delivering not only a chemical, but crop protection solutions based on extensive technical validation and also a growing presence in the field.

"Rotam has a well balanced portfolio in Latin America, mostly in key countries like Brazil, Argentina and Colombia. Our products range from one of the best portfolios in the industry for seed treatment with different fungicides and insecticides such as Saluzi® (imidachloprid), Saddler® (thiodicarb), Protreat® (carbendazin + thiram), a quite broad portfolio of insecticides, covering classes like carbamates (methomyl), pyrethroids (lambda cyhalothrin), neonicotinoids (imidachloprid), pyrazoles (fipronil) and IGRs (triflumuron) and also a growing offer of fungicides, with protectants (carbendazin, chlorothalonil) and systemic fungicides (tebuconazole) for a wide range of crops, including some unique formulations and pre-mixtures.” stated Ronaldo Pereira.

In addition to a wide range of products and services, Rotam also offers integrated crop solutions for different problems in agriculture, such as weed resistance solutions and pest management solutions, etc. Ronaldo Pereira said: “Resistance management requires alternatives mode of actions and Rotam’s existing portfolio (nicosulfuron, clethodim) can help growers to maintain better weed control over grasses that are no more sensitive to glyphosate in maize and soybean, We have also registered several herbicides in chemical fallow that we have developed in sequencing of application or in mixture to provide the best field conditions before planting. Last but not least our large portfolio of insecticides leaded by methomyl has provided excellent pest management solutions while lepidopetera are also getting less susceptible to Bt stacked traits. We aim at providing farming community with a sustainable and global alternative.”

Furthermore, seeds and fertilizers are another potential market segments in agriculture that Rotam is exploring. As the company has successfully developed in Asia a range of biostimulants and foliar fertilizers which it transfer the technology to other markets including Latin America. Its midterm target is working on superior crop protection solutions which would combine the expertise in all the dimension of crop protection, including seeds.

Technology innovation and market promotion maintain the sustainable competitiveness

"Rotam is a process synthesis technology company. Over the past decades Rotam has developed compounds for field crops and vegetables, demonstrating its capacity to deliver on time excellent quality products. We have now a sufficient portfolio of molecules that has enabled the company to participate and understand these key crop segments. As a result we are launching new agronomic solutions that went through our field evaluation process and formulation expertise. They are made of either new concentration of active, solo or in mixtures that have demonstrated higher control and synergism against target pest, weeds or diseases. We constantly work with existing molecules, improving and enhancing them to unlock new uses, improve efficiency and safety to the crops. For example we are the first company to explain the benefits of a preventive application at the vegetative phase of soybean with an innovative formulation based on tebuconazole and carbedazim (Tebuzim®)." said Jean-Michel Duhamel.

Rotam Chile recently expanded its market offer through the acquisition of 15 products registrations from a local company Mabruk. This acquisition expanded company’s product portfolio and speeded up the direct market access. It also reflected Rotam’s positive market entry strategy.

"Even in a challenging year like 2015, we continue to significantly expand our field presence and to enhance our access to the market, which we believe will be the propeller for future growth. Despite of the natural cycles of the agrochemical market, we have no doubt Latin America will always be a key region for our business given the strength of its agriculture, as well as its tremendous potential for future growth.” Ronaldo Pereira noted.

In regard to competition, Ronaldo Pereira said: “we respect our competitors and acknowledge some are very strong, we believe that there is a need in the market for a company like Rotam that uses a platform of off patent molecules to continue to bring affordable innovation for the growers. We invest 10% of our annual turnover in R&D expenditure and another significant value in field presence. This means that we are there when our customers need us, not only trading goods, but ensuring their needs are met and we exceed their expectation. ”

Biotechnology is full of opportunities and challenges

Multinationals’ product portfolio form such a structure where GM seed drives the sales of agrochemicals, which provides farmers with more comprehensive solutions, and supports the industry. Regarding this sales model, Ronaldo Pereira commented: “Engineered seeds will, more and more, need superior protection, and no company has the total best solution to offer because each grower has a distinct set of needs. We strive to bring the best solutions to some of those needs. So far, given the response we got from the customers, it has worked.”

"Our approach to biotechnology is slightly different: we have invested in partnerships to bring non-GMO crops that are resistant to important classes on herbicides as a way to solve some important problems faced by growers.” said Ronaldo Pereira. Cibus Global and Rotam launched non-transgenic SU Canola™ (Sulfonylurea Tolerant) in the United States in 2014, while Rotam developed two new effective weed control solutions Draft™ and Cleat™ specifically designed for use on SU Canola™. In 2015, Rotam announced the merger of China’s Rotachem Company to build a R&D and crop protection factory.

Conclusion

In addition to having a good performance in the field of crop protection, Rotam has begun to gradually get involved in the field of biotechnology, while it continuously expands its fertilizer business, to provide customers with more comprehensive crop solutions, which eventually improve the overall performance of the company.