AgroPages-VEYONG: Desiring for Brand Transformation via Capturing Glufosinate Opportunity-Agricultural news

Mickey Shan

Senior Editor; China Marketing Director

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Hebei Veyong Bio-Chemical Ltd is a prime pesticide manufacturer of northern China, as well as the abamectin industry leader. For long years Veyong has provided high-quality abamectin technical to international market, having established the world-famous Veyong brand image, which is well trusted by customers. So far the company’s territory of trade covers some 70 countries and regions, with sales exceeding Yuan 1 billion.

Recently AgroPages took an exclusive interview with Veyong’s strategic performance executive Wang Xingwu and the international marketing manager Yang Jianhui, who gave a presentation to the growth and future development of the 60-year standing pesticide enterprise.

To shape a glufosinate-centered international technical material sourcing platform

Veyong is a technical material and formulation-combined pesticide manufacturer, being experienced in international trade. Its product is mainly backed up by technical material while being able to process various formulations tailored to customer needs. Veyong’s brand image is globally all the time linked to abamectin, because its high-quality abamectin technical and various formulations have become a signage of Veyong.

Market is changeable all the time, only “change is not changeable”. Over recent years, various changes have taken place in the external environment of agrochemical market. In 2016, paraquat will be prohibited in China. Globally Bayer’s Liberty Link and Dow’s Enlist GM crop system (glufosinate-tolerant trait) have been approved successively and promoted for applications to plantation. High-quality glufosinate has become a focus of herbicide market.

“We are currently working hard to shape a glufosinate-centered international technical material sourcing platform”, said Yang Jianhui. According to the strategic planning of the company, Veyong initiated the idea of “technical material supermarket” in the international market. It is a new-style international supply platform, where Veyong releases from time to time its advantageous product reserved for years according to customer demand. In this way, international sourcing becomes like shopping in a supermarket, which is a one-stop, trustworthy and fully satisfactory purchasing experience. Over recent years, product varieties put on the platform include glufosinate, azoxystrobin, pymetrozine,abamectin, emamectin benzoate and clothianidin.

Yang Jianhui said that in the future Veyong will utilize its large glufosinate capacity, advanced formulation technology and the distribution channels based on abamectin to drive the sales of the several new products to enlarge the product range of the “technical material supermarket”, which will change Veyong’s image of high-quality abamectin vendor into a representation of glufosinate-centered technical material sourcing platform.

Glufosinate production is of difficult process, long flow and heavy pollution. Glufosinate manufacturers in China are running production intermittently and cannot reach full capacity. Veyong is one of China’s earliest enterprises starting to produce glufosinate. Under the intense market competition, Veyong does not rely on cutthroat competition like using damping price to capture market, but to explore market potentials for increased demand by means of technology, capacity, formula design and service to shape a new glufosinate image.

After long-year reasoning and development, Veyong has now set up an internationally advanced synthetic process-based production line. Its production capacity reaches 450 tons, technical material purity reaches 95%, environmental compliance reaches to a better status than similar productions and continuous production process is achieved. The company has a 1,000-ton glufosinate plant under the way, to be followed by another 3,000-ton project. As regards to formulations, Veyong is making continuous improvement to the diversity and technical level of the formula design, having registered a series of high-efficient and environment-friendly glufosinate formulations.

Besides glufosinate, Veyong has been working on registrations worldwide, which will be a good basis for the platform. Yang Jianhui said, “Beginning from easier-accessed countries like southeastern Asian countries, such as Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Philippines, Veyong has penetrated and landed gradually the development countries including US and Europe. So far Veyong has obtained registrations in more than 10 countries worldwide; another 10 products are being processed for registration.” In the coming period when more technical material varieties are available, Veyong will continue to grow its global registrations for more product ranges. In the meantime, Veyong will utilize the advantages of its proprietary formula design and overseas registration capability to increase tailored service to provide different regions with more precise registered products according to specific needs of the region.

Competitive edge accumulated in growth

During its solid approach to growth, the old-brand Veyong demonstrates all the time its passion and courage for breakthrough. If business indicators or corporate planning are rather abstract, the stories shared by Yang Jianhui who is working on practical business day-to-day would tell us how Veyong’s work team perform their duty enthusiastically with due diligence, integrity and professionalism, which is well recognized by customers. These are reasons why Veyong could accumulate its industry advantages and support the upgrade of a new round of brand development.

- Exploring international market step by step

Veyong’s early pesticide export included only diflubenzuron and methamidophos, with annual sales of tens of million Yuan. During the early stage, Veyong seized the opportunity of Pakistan market and made a breakthrough with emamectin benzoate, having captured the major Pakistan market share via promotions and tailored product supplies. The success in Pakistan paved the way for its international presence, followed by successive landing in Southeast Asian countries and India. The development of Asian market trained the team, and then Veyong started its attention to European and the US market. Starting with registration, Veyong opened up high-end market including South America, North America and Europe. Step by step, Veyong distributed its product to some 70 countries and regions across the world.

- Market guided by qualified registration team

In early times, Veyong’s registration was market-driven, meaning registration would begin only after certain market is targeted. Registration process is complicated; there are very limited chances of learning from others in China. Over the last years, the registration team, headed by the registration chief executive Zhang Yang went out to various training workshops to learn from experts. After the hard and fruitful learning, now Veyong’s registration goes deep down into the market of developed countries. The business mode is changed from the past “market-guided registration” into the present “registration-guided marketing”. Registration personnel has a proactive understand of the global market, and can make prior registration reserves even before the sales step in, which gives sales a guidance as how to penetrate the market. Furthermore, registration team can provide individualized registration service according to the needs of different market and customers.

- Trust built up by all-round professional services

Yang Jianhui told us that glufosinate is treated as a new beginning not only because of the market demand but also because of the trust and confidence from customers. Veyong has a long-year customer, who receives from Veyong product, logistical service and technical service in an all-round way. Now the customer has grown into a strategic partner to Veyong other than being a buyer. The customer purchases only the product of Veyong, and additionally often shares experiences of product applications with Veyong, and would recommend Veyong to reserve certain kind of product. It is this customer who recommended the glufosinate project. A vendor would want to use their professionalism and integrity to cultivate loyalty customer to jointly develop market on a win-win basis, Veyong did it.

- Innovation driven by customer needs

Regarding formulations export, difference exists in formulation types in different country or region. Veyong always improves its formula design according to customer needs. Taking an example of the emamectin benzoate GR for South American market, Veyong managed to elevate the active ingredient content from 5% to 20% via formula upgrade. At present Veyong sells more than 1,000 product varieties to international market, including nearly 300 abamectin products, which are individualized products in terms of specifications and even packing. At the same time, the demand for different kinds of product also inspires Chinese market. Formula design of a number of products of Veyong leads the way of formula development in China. It is foreseeable that in the near future what is carried by the “technical material supermarket” platform will be full of the prosperous product families of Veyong.

Chinese pesticide quality represented by Veyong

In 2015, global agrochemical companies in general suffered downturn in their business performance, Chinese pesticide export encountered the first-time price and volume fall in 5 years. However with the anti-risk capability, Veyong has come into a harvest time, thanks to previous reserves and accumulations. Using the new glufosinate development as a driving force, Veyong’s export this year grew against the adverse situation, amounting to Yuan 7 billion. In 2016, the global agrochemical recession is likely to continue. Adhering to the resounding word “Chinese pesticide quality represented by Veyong”, Veyong is prepared to push hard to turn crisis into opportunity.

Wang Xingwu said that in 2016 Veyong’s first effort will be on the achievement of the designed glufosinate capacity. Meanwhile the technical material product structure will become more reasonable. The “technical material platform” will be established, internal technical innovation will be further strengthened and cooperation with partners will be more fruitful. Veyong will create China’s highest-level technical material, based on which, formulations will be produced to perfection. Wang Xingwu said, “Veyong’s short-term goal is to achieve a sales breakthrough to reach several billion sales annually and to enable the company to possess larger anti-risk capacity. In the several years ahead, Veyong is expected to become an agrochemical enterprise with highest brand value.”