Rotam Leads Sales Growth In The Industry

With an average annual growth rate of 27% over the past five years, the Hong Kong-based agrochemical company Rotam has been named as the leading international crop protection company on the basis of average agrochemical sales growth. This rating is significantly higher than Rotam’s nearest competitor.

The agrochemical sales of Rotam increased by 23% in 2012 year-on-year, reaching a total of $265 million. This places Rotam at number 26, and within the top 30 agrochemical companies in the world.

Rotam’s Chief Commercial Officer, Jean Michel Duhamel believes this high ranking position is testimony to the considerable expansion Rotam has undergone in recent years that’s been driven by strong product development and strategic investment in key market areas and registrations.

“Maintaining a focus on the market demand for key global territories is the major driver for Rotam,” he says. “We recognize the need for new solutions for cereals and maize crops in Europe and USA, soybean agrochemical innovation in the South American market, sugar cane in Brazil, and rice and vegetable products in Latin America, as well as in the United States. Our extensive market knowledge across the globe helps us focus our efforts and investment appropriately.”

“We launched a total of 98 products in 2012. This included product introductions into new territories, as well new chemistry to the Rotam portfolio such as dicamba, azoxystrobin and clethodim,” comments Jean Michel.

Rotam’s Chief Executive Officer, James Bristow explains that in order to support and facilitate this growth, the business has made a significant investment in R&D and organizational infrastructure across all its regions. “We are now investing in the expansion of manufacturing capability in China, Taiwan and India to ensure the latest in production technology and efficiency supports our brands.”

While Rotam is not involved in new active ingredient research, it allocates approximately $25 million - around 10% of its total sales - to product development per annum. “This is akin to the re-investment figures of large R&D companies,” notes James, “and this is what sets Rotam apart from more generic, product focused competitors.”

Earlier this year, Rotam restructured its regional operations to comprise of nine regions as opposed to six. Namely, China, Taiwan, Asia Pacific, India, Europe/Middle East/Africa, NAFTA, Latin America North, Brazil and Argentina. Rotam maintains its global headquarters in Hong Kong, and the largest market is China, accounting for $89 million (33.6%) of all sales. Beyond that, the company sell products in over 60 countries through its worldwide network.

Recent years, Rotam expanded rapidly and added new strategic markets. This year the company opened a new office in Jakarta, Indonesia as the headquarters of the new Asia Pacific region.

In 2012, the European headquarters based in Lyon, France has taken responsibility for direct sales operations across the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. The Sales in Europe has grown from $20 million to $25 million (25%) during 2011 to 2012. This growth was largely due to the approval of new product registrations, a position which is set to continue given a cumulative investment of more than $70 million in Europe’s product development.

Latin America markets account for $113 million (42.6%) of all sales in 2012, including three Rotam operating regions, namely Brazil, Argentina and Latin America North (includes Andean area, Chile and Central America). Brazil alone stands as Rotam’s biggest country outside China with sales of $78 million (29%). This is partly thanks to increased sales of methomyl and a more favourable market environment than previous years.

Rotam’s future development is anticipated to continue for the short and mid-term in much the same manner, with strong growth being derived from the company’s continued expansion into the growth markets of China and Latin America. In addition the company’s continued commitment to further invest in the registration and development of new products will provide additional sources of revenue as new market opportunities are explored.