Finchimica: Reshaping the sustainable future of crop protection with world-leading chemical manufacturing expertise

Finchimica S.p.A. is a leading global producer of dinitroaniline, has a long history of development and is the first Italian company to become a member of the European Crop Protection Association (ECCA). 

In its development journey of more than 40 years, Finchimica has built a manufacturing platform covering the entire production process and has established cooperative relationships with many multinational companies. Its busines spans more than 40 countries in Europe, the Mediterranean region, the United States (US), Latin America and Australia. 

In recent years, in the mature market of the EU, Finchimica has maintained rapid growth. Recently, AgroPages conducted an exclusive interview with Maura Naponiello (CEO of Finchimica), who explained the company's advantageous production and registration capacities. In the EU, where regulations are extremely stringent, through a firm investment in environmental and social responsibility, Finchimica has been recognized for meeting the best standards in the industry.

Maura Naponiello, CEO of Finchimica

AgroPages: Please briefly introduce Finchimica's development history and current development status, including its company scale, market position and major covering markets. 

Naponiello: Finchimica is a privately-owned independent company established with entirely Italian capital, which has been operating since 1976 in the global market performing research and development activities. It has also been manufacturing, registering and selling active ingredients, chemical intermediates and crop protection products. Our main markets are the EU, the US and Australia.

Finchimica is committed to a strong growth process while always anticipating and in full compliance with ESG criteria, which is the set of standards for company’s operations. It has made significant investments and achieved a turnover that has grown by some 50% in the last three years, reaching more than EUR90 million in 2020, despite a mature market that is struggling to grow further. 

In particular, in the EU, we have been investing in the development of a portfolio of post-patent products, which still retain agronomic relevance in major European crops, from arable to specialties. 

The same propensity to investing and innovating has enabled us to enhance our research and innovation towards more environmentally-sustainable solutions, such as biorationals products, in full compliance with the 2030 Agenda and forthcoming EU program, entitled, “From Farm to Fork.” 

AgroPages: Please introduce the main customer groups of Finchimica. What are Finchimica's major products, technologies and services that offer advantages?  

Naponiello: Due to the quality of our products and services and the flexibility we offer to our customers, our customer profile ranges from R&D multinationals to Tier 2 and Tier 3 companies. 

Finchimica has a deep technological know-how in the process of photo and ring-chlorination, fluorination, nitration and amination. Moreover, our manufacturing platform covers the entire production process, from basic raw materials to chemical intermediates and finished products. 

We are the leading manufacturer of dinitroanilines in the world, covering the entire process of synthesis. The technologies and the know-how we acquired over 45 years of industrial activity are still at the basis of the growth of our products and registration portfolio, and, today, support the implementation of new intermediates and active ingredients that comply with the requirements of the Integrated Pest Management (IPM), helping to reshape the sustainable future of crop protection.   

Since the early 1980s, we have strongly invested in environmental sustainability and technologies to reduce industrial waste, and most of them have now been treated and sold as co-products, creating a strong competitive advantage for other global industrial players that have moved in this direction only quite recently and on a compulsory basis. 

Finchimica is compliant with the following environmental certifications: UNI EN ISO 14001, UNI EN ISO 9001 and OHSAS 18001.

The factory of Finchimica

The R&D equipment of Finchimica

AgroPages: Please introduce Finchimica's production capabilities. As a European company that produces and synthesizes chemical substances, what current external environment is Finchimica facing? How does Finchimica always maintain consistency with regulatory policies?

Naponiello: Finchimica always closely monitors the external environment, especially the development directions of the European Green Deal and the “From Farm to Fork” strategy, relying on decades of investment in environmental practices and social responsibility, therefore, anticipating and adapting to the repercussions of regulations based on ESG principles.

From its long history of ethical commitment and policy sharing with its suppliers on a social level, to its journey as a pioneer of environmental sustainability, Finchimica's culture of responsibility has deep roots.

Finchimica fully complies with the highest and most rigorous standards of environmental, safety and health and labor regulations, both at national and EU levels.

Our policies are based on our ability to offer open, transparent and fruitful dialogue with relevant bodies and authorities, as well as our voluntarily auditors, which, over the years, have always appreciated our full compliance and strong commitment to monitoring and constant improvement, as a best practice of our industry.       

AgroPages: We can see that Finchimica's product line is relatively focused. At present, the number of chemical molecules available in the EU market is shrinking. How does Finchimica provide farmers with diverse crop protection solutions?

Naponiello: In previous years, Finchimica has been greatly diversifying its product portfolio and registrations of formulated products, whether herbicides, fungicides or insecticides. Today, we are implementing low environmental impact solutions in an effort to contribute more to sustainable agriculture, in accordance with the 2030 Agenda and the new SDGs criteria.     

AgroPages: What is the main business model of Finchimica in Italy and overseas? 

Naponiello: We can count on our own R&D department and sound internal registration skills and know-how, and we have adopted a purely B2B model. For active ingredients and chemical intermediates, we have our own production plant, and we mainly address R&D multinational companies based on long-term supply agreements. 

As for formulated products, we rely on our valuable partnerships with multinational and local distributors.

The strongest asset of our business model is the fertilization of our manufacturing know-how, as well as our upstream research that has enabled us, over many years, to innovate and enhance our skills in terms of formulated products while constantly working towards greener solutions.  

AgroPages: Large-scale acquisitions by multinational companies in vertical fields have heaped pressure on the industry as a whole. How does Finchimica deal with this pressure? We can see that Finchimica has also made some acquisitions. What kind of considerations are these based on? 

Naponiello: As in any mature but lively sector, it is normal to witness market consolidation dynamics, which often start from large multinationals but certainly affect companies of all sizes. Finchimica is looking closely at extraordinary operations, for strategic acquisitions or partnerships, targeting those aimed at creating strong synergies of know-how, market development and investment for growth.

AgroPages: Where does Finchimica import raw materials from? Have you felt any fluctuations in recent prices and supply?

Naponiello: Finchimica sources raw materials from various countries, including India and China. We have always successfully managed price and sale fluctuations, due to our careful planning and specific long-term agreements with our suppliers.

If you also want to tell your company story, or share your insights into the industry, please contact:

Mickey Shan

mickey@agropages.com