To become a global leader in microencapsulated pesticide brands: PilarBio launches its Pilarcore^® and Pilarnano^® brands

On November 17, 2023, the PilarBio Strategic Upgrade and the Sixth National Strategic Customer Development Conference was held in Changsha, Hu’nan Province in China. During this event, PilarBio launched its microencapsulated formulation Pilarcore® and nano-formulation Pilarnano^® brands, and officially introduced its brand mascot, ″Pilar OX″. Nearly 300 people attended the event, including Mu Canxian, chairman of the board of directors of PilarBio Group, Li Yongping, a researcher from the National Agro-Tech Extension and Service Center, senior industry experts, and PilarBio’s strategic customers from throughout the country. Attendees also exchanged views on the latest development trends in the agricultural industry. 

Established twelve years ago, PilarBio has seen rapid development and become one of the top ten pesticide formulation brands in China thanks to its differentiated products and breakthroughs in microencapsulation technology. In the future, PilarBio is striving to achieve the corporate development goal of entering the list of the global Top 20 brand pesticide companies, and become a global leader in microencapsulated pesticide brands.

Promoting reduction in chemical pesticide use to ensure food security

In 2023, the development of China’s pesticide industry has experienced ups and downs, facing the challenges seen throughout the industry. From a macro perspective, trends in reducing chemical pesticide use and ensuring national food security will fuel the development of the pesticide industry. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) has put forward a target of increasing grain output by 50 million tons, and requires that efforts in reducing pesticide use shall continue, supplemented by measures such as substitution, precision application, professional control, and comprehensive solutions. The prospects for precise application technologies, such as microencapsulated formulations and the biopesticide market, are broad.

Through many years of intensive efforts, PilarBio has accumulated advantages in resistant pest and disease control. In 2022, PilarBio’s microencapsulated product brand Pilarcore^® was launched throughout the entire industry, marking the landscape of microencapsulated formulations, which formally began the ″Pilarcore Era″. Pilarcore^® is an integration of PilarBio’s world-leading technologies in microencapsulated formulation research and development, production and application, representing the highest level of microencapsulated formulation production. It is an important tool for PilarBio to establish the potential for long-term development and differentiate itself from its competitors.

Today, Pilarcore technology is poised to boost PilarBio Group to become one of the global Top 20 brand pesticide companies.

As the leader of PilarBio Group, Chairman Mu Canxian elaborated on PilarBio’s strategic vision and the global strategic layout of the Pilarcore^® brand. Based on the company’s development plan for the next 3-10 years, Mu is confident in the development of the global microencapsulated formulation market, proposing the corporate development goal of ″striving to achieve US$500 million in sales, entering the list of global Top 20 brand pesticide companies, and becoming a global leader in microencapsulated pesticide brands by 2029″. 

Mu Canxian, Chairman of PilarBio Group

Microencapsulation technology is a core technology developed by PilarBio over many years, with advantages including extending the effective period of pesticides, improving the utilization rate, reducing use rate, and enhancing safety. There have been almost no pesticide formulation companies with microencapsulated products as their core competitiveness in China. PilarBio has taken the lead in the industry and built the first domestic DCS control system for capsule production, which ensures the stability of product quality. Pilarcore^® series microencapsulated products have reported initial success in overseas markets, with over 80 registrations for products in more than 30 countries. The annual sales of Pilarcore^® series products reached over 5,000 tons, showing broad application prospects. 

In China, PilarBio has 33 microencapsulated formulation products that have been registered or are in the process of being registered, and are registering more products in more countries worldwide. The company’s goal is, within 5 years, 50% of its global sales will come from Pilarcore^® series products.

Pilarcore^® incorporates four core application technologies: Wait-for-weed, secondary film-forming, staged release and dual film protection. Based on these core technologies, the widespread application of PilarBio’s Pilarcore^® series products at home and abroad has proven that these products can significantly improve pesticide utilization rates, achieve reduced pesticide use and increased efficiency, and are safe both for the environment and users.

The event also saw the debut of the mascot for the Pilarcore^® brand, Pilar OX, along with a promotional video featuring the mascot. Pilar OX, in the form of a cartoon bull, combines the images of working people and scientists, representing the spirit of the company. The introduction of Pilar OX marks the start of a new branding phase for Pilarcore^®, solidifying the brand concept and making it more approachable.

Pilar OX, the mascot for the Pilarcore^® brand

Pilarnano^® nano-pesticide series: to become a leading brand in the nano-pesticide segment

Nano-pesticides are an important way of increasing efficiency and reducing pesticide use. Both China and the rest of the world are vigorously developing the nano-pesticide segment. PilarBio has chosen nano-suspensions, which have higher technical difficulties, as the main target. Through raw material screening and process upgrades, the company has developed the excellent, safe, and environmentally friendly Pilarnano^® series nano-pesticide products.

The Pilarnano^® series products encompass four core technologies: 

1) By increasing the sand milling equipment and boosting the sand milling grade, the suspension stability is improved, and the adjuvant content is increased by over 20%; 

2) With a suspension particle size of less than 600nm, the number of pesticide micro-particles of the same morphology increases, and the surface area increases by 1000 times, contributing to full effect of pesticides; 

3) The imported ″nano-microsphere″ mixed suspension adjuvant generates a double electric layer effect that keeps the particle size unchanged, resulting in small surface tension and better spread ability; 

4) The innovative use of cosmetics grade moisturizing adjuvant enhances the absorption rate and the resistance of a film’s protective layer to rain-fastness. Taking the application test of PILARTEP and PILARZOX as an example, the results show that compared to common suspensions, the Pilarnano^® series products maintain the same effect under the condition of 25% reduced use, truly realizing increasing efficiency while reducing the use of pesticides.

PilarBio launched the first batch of Pilarnano^® series nano-suspension products in 2022, and will launch a range of new products in 2024, including nano-copper metal, nano dry suspensions, and others, to expand its product portfolio. PilarBio aims to build Pilarnano^® a leading brand in the nano-pesticide segment, bringing more high-quality nano-pesticide products to users and helping increase efficiency, while reducing the use of pesticides.

Cooperation for a shared future: expanding new markets for brand pesticides

No product can succeed in the market without the cooperation and efforts of distributors. During the event, outstanding distributors of PilarBio talked about their experience in cooperating with PilarBio and how PilarBio, taking into consideration the practices of farmers, while integrating corporate values into products and services to provide the most solid and powerful support for local farmers’ crop production and increasing their economic benefits.

During the event, 12 subsidiaries of PilarBio signed a ″Cooperation for a Shared Future″ strategic cooperation agreement for Pilarcore^® products with representatives of outstanding distributors, officially reaching an in-depth cooperation on the Pilarcore^® series products. This signifies that the cooperation on the PilarBio’s Pilarcore^® brand has entered a new stage of development, in which both sides will form a close cooperation to promote the agricultural modernization of China and even the world with Pilarcore^® series products.