Prioritizing customers, inspiring innovation and shaping the future with excellent products — Exploring Limin’s global strategy through its Latin American market footprints

Pioneering paths with perseverance, the original aspiration still burns

Established in 1991, Limin Group Co., Ltd. has evolved into a modern enterprise group that integrates research, development, production, and sales of technicals and formations of pesticides and APIs and preparations of veterinary medicine. 

Limin is a designated key agrochemical manufacturer at the national level and ranks 20th in China’s agrochemical industry in sales. The company has a workforce of over 5,000 employees and operates from five major production bases. It has an annual production capacity of over 112,100 tons for technicals/APIs and 114,400 tons for formulations/preparations. It comprises 15 subsidiary companies and holds stakes in two associated companies.

Limin’s five production-oriented subsidiaries are recognized as high-tech enterprises and national or provincial-level green factories. Currently, it operates two post-doctoral workstations in Jiangsu and Hebei provinces. Moreover, it possesses the Nanjing OECD GLP, CNAS laboratory, and five primary research and development platforms. These facilities form a comprehensive research and development system for pesticide and veterinary medicine technologies, encompassing new product development, technical synthesis, chemical engineering and processes, biotechnology, formulation development, analytical testing, and biological testing. As of June 30, 2023, Limin has been granted 244 patents, including 117 invention patents. Simultaneously, the company actively fosters collaboration between industry, academia, and research institutions by establishing strategic partnerships with multiple research institutions and universities to ensure the advanced and forward-looking nature of its technologies and products and cultivate a core competitive advantage of diversified varieties and cost-efficiency.

Limin is one of the vital pesticide manufacturers in China, recognized as a national intellectual property demonstration enterprise. It holds positions as a vice-chairman unit in the China Association of Pesticide Development and Application (CAPDA) and the China Crop Protection Industry Association (CCPIA). Four of the company’s technicals have gained Technical Equivalence by the EU and have been adopted as FAO standards. The company has taken a leading role or participated in developing national standards for 18 technicals/APIs and formulations/preparations and industry standards for 26 technicals/APIs and formulations/preparations. Hebei Veyong Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd, a subsidiary of Limin, is a large veterinary enterprise with a GMP certificate in China integrating research and development, production and sales of veterinary APIs, preparations and feed additives. It stands as one of the top ten domestic manufacturers of veterinary APIs, and also plays a significant role in various specialized industry associations, including the China Veterinary Drug Association and the Veterinary Parasitology Branch of the Chinese Association of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine.

Limin actively fulfills its social responsibilities and has earned the status of an AAA-level credit enterprise. ″Kingrain″, an insecticide brand of the company, was recognized as one of the best-selling insecticide products in the national plant protection market for 2022. The local governments have also identified the ″Limin″ trademark as a primary brand to be nurtured and developed into an internationally renowned brand. Two subsidiary companies of Limin, namely Limin Chemical Co., Ltd. and Hebei Veyong Bio-Chemical Co., Ltd., have received recognition from China’s petrochemical industry associations and local governments, garnering praise for their technological innovation, product quality and environmental protection efforts.

While continuing to enhance its strength in the agrochemical field, Limin is also actively venturing into new territories. By establishing Zhuobang New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., it initiated an exploration journey into the realm of lithium-ion batteries. A project team will accelerate various tasks, including environmental assessment, safety assessment, energy assessment and engineering design. Currently, Zhuobang has achieved the production of 100-gram-level products, of which the quality has been verified by third-party laboratories, confirming that both the content and impurity specifications meet advanced industry standards.

In 2023, Limin’s transformative efforts have gained further momentum, with an enhanced organizational structure and concrete managerial functions. Centering on the guiding philosophy of fostering the ″Limin″ brand, implementing a strategic product planning approach for a range of ″exquisite offerings″, and envisioning the formation of a network of ″strategic partners″, Limin has successfully concluded the integration of its marketing efforts. This includes unifying the brand, streamlining market planning, and aligning market services to establish an entirely new brand of architecture and novel development model for further optimizing resource allocation and harnessing synergies to present Limin as an industry leader that embraces changes, innovation, and continuous progress.

The factory area of Limin Group

Thriving across Latin America: a multifaceted success story

Limin’s pesticide products encompass three significant categories: fungicides, insecticides, and herbicides. Thanks to its extensive product line, Limin has gained a competitive edge in the Latin American market by achieving success in multiple areas.

Mancozeb, the flagship product of Limin, has remained popular to this day due to its exceptional performance in resistance management. Currently, Limin boasts an annual production capacity of 45,000 tons for this product, making it the largest in China and among the top in the world. In 2019, Limin obtained approval for the registration of Mancozeb as a single formulation through its authorized agent in Brazil, leading to a steady increase in sales. To better serve its customers with a more diversified range of products, Limin has initiated independent registration of key self-produced products and pioneered a new sales model, offering customers a more diversified range of collaboration options.

Abamectin, an essential product of Limin, is a microbial fermentation-based agricultural antibiotic. It possesses contact and translaminar activity and can be used as an insecticide, acaricide, nematicide and molluscicide. In 2012, Limin took the lead in establishing the Task Force for Abamectin Registration in Brazil and obtained the registration in 2014. Over the past decade, Limin has consistently supplied high-quality Abamectin technical to the Brazilian market. 

Emamectin Benzoate, another critical product of Limin, is a derivative of Abamectin with improved stability. It is primarily used in the Latin American region to control Lepidopteran pests on crops such as cotton, rice, corn and soybeans. Tailoring to the characteristics of the Latin American market, Limin has developed a high-concentration single-formulation product and multiple combined-formulation products collaboratively with customers. These distinctive products have garnered favorable responses since their introduction to the market.

Fosetyl-aluminum, an essential product of Limin, is characterized by its long-lasting efficacy and good systemic activity. It can be transported upwards and downwards within plant tissues, leaving virtually no residues after application. In the Latin American region, it is primarily used to control pineapple heart rot and avocado diseases and has achieved noteworthy sales performance.

Pyrimethanil, a distinctive product of Limin, possesses systemic activity and can be used for fumigation. It offers protective and curative effects, making it a highly effective fungicide for combating gray mold disease among conventional pesticides. It is mainly utilized for the pre-packing preservation of fruits, controlling rose gray mold disease and managing banana diseases. Limin is intensifying its efforts in the formulation development of this product to cater to the personalized requirements of different countries.

Limin has devoted many years to cultivating the Latin American market, establishing a strong and stable customer base that has contributed to continuous growth in sales. Limin’s future focus will be on core products such as Spinosad, Tembotrione, Spirotetramat, and Fluopyram, which are either industrialized or on the verge of industrialization. Among these, 97% Tembotrione technical has gained registration approval and achieved process stability, with a production capacity of 500 tons per year. Additionally, the 10,000-ton Glufosinate-P project has obtained investment project filing certification and is now undergoing comprehensive construction. Limin will continue its efforts in authorized and independent registrations, reinforce its core competitiveness in conventional biological fermentation technology, refine its product line, and establish enduring and stable collaboration models with customers in the Latin American market.

The smart workshops and warehouses of Limin Group

Starting with the end in mind and achieving shared success

By further consolidating and optimizing resources, Limin has acquired a robust portfolio encompassing insecticides, fungicides and herbicides. This enables it to offer comprehensive crop solutions to customers. With a steadfast commitment to addressing the personalized demands of local markets, building upon a foundation of stable, high-quality products, and drawing strength from robust research and development capabilities, Limin will continue to provide products with remarkable market competitiveness! Limin is cultivating a portfolio advantage by employing mainstream products to drive niche offerings, introducing novel products to invigorate conventional ones, and utilizing customized solutions to elevate standard products. In the future, Limin will continually contribute its Chinese solutions to foster the healthy development of global agriculture!

Appreciative of its past achievements, the company now sets forth on a fresh chapter, unwavering in its dedication to embracing change and fostering innovation. With a well-defined strategic direction, Limin is resolute in forging a novel industrial paradigm by harmonizing the advancement of biological synthesis, eco-friendly chemical synthesis, and cutting-edge energy storage electrolyte technologies and products. This roadmap provides clear guidance for forthcoming progress. Amidst this era of transformation and innovation, Limin is steadily propelling itself towards the vision of ″becoming a global leader in plant protection and animal health services″!

lf you want to get in touch with Limin Group, or share your company story and introduce your technology/product specialty, please contact Mickey Shan at: mickey@agropages.com

This article was initially published in AgroPages' '2023 Latin Americus Focus' magazine.