Valent And Nufarm Join Forces In The U.S. Turf, Ornamental And Aquatics Market

Valent U.S.A. Corporation and Nufarm Americas Inc. announced on Jan. 29 that Valent has agreed to appoint Nufarm as the exclusive distributor of its branded products for professional turf, ornamental and aquatic uses in the United States, effective February 16, 2014.

As a result, Valent and Nufarm will effectively combine the product portfolios of the two companies into one broad portfolio that will be sold by Nufarm in the U.S. It will feature Nufarm’s product offerings such as Escalade and Millennium Ultra Herbicides and its Cleary line of fungicides, along with Valent’s brands such as Safari insecticide, Arena insecticide, SureGuard and Clipper herbicides and Tourney fungicide.

The newly combined portfolio of the two companies will be powered by a team of individuals from both Nufarm and Valent, as the sales and technical teams of both companies join forces to bring enhanced service and support to customers.

“This partnership will unite two highly complementary businesses to bring our customers one of the largest and most complete portfolios in the industry,” says Andy Lee, executive vice president and chief operations officer at Valent. “Combining our strengths in technical development, product development and operational activities will enable accelerated delivery of innovative, value-added solutions to the turf, ornamental and aquatics market.”

Darryl Matthews, general manager for Nufarm in North America says “We are excited to join forces with Valent to create substantial value for our customers. We each bring complementary strengths to the market, and by combining these resources with customer collaboration, we will generate new and innovative solutions that uniquely fit the needs of the market.”

Under the terms of this agreement, Nufarm will offer the entire line of Valent branded products for professional golf course, lawn and landscape, production ornamental and aquatic use under the Valent brand name. The agreement excludes Valent’s business in the agricultural crop protection, seed protection, consumer home and garden, industrial vegetation management, forestry, pest control, timber treatment, public health and animal health markets.

The U.S. agreement between Valent and Nufarm builds on the many distribution collaborations established between Valent’s parent company, Sumitomo Chemical Company and Nufarm, since Sumitomo’s strategic investment in the global Nufarm business in 2010.

“This is a very exciting time as our two companies work together to form a top-tier organization that is positioned in a leadership role with customers and partners,” Lee says. “We anticipate the value and innovation Valent and Nufarm will bring to our customers in years to come.”