BASF reorganizes specialty products department

BASF announced it will take its distinct businesses within the U.S. non-crop markets and merge them into one. The primary businesses known as Pest Control Solutions and Professional Turf & Ornamentals (T&O), and secondary businesses including Professional Vegetation Management and Market Business Development, will now collectively be known to the marketplace as the BASF Specialty Products Department (SPD). Each respective market will continue to be served, but BASF will do so as one business unit led by Jan Buberl, director of specialty products.

Buberl said reorganizing the specialty products division, which has been a year in the making, better serves the turf and pest markeplace.

"This follows the BASF strategy, which is centered around innovation and end-user orientation," Buberl says. "That was the trigger point for what we did here. This organization setup is an investment in the future and to stay ahead of the curve to better serve our custers in the long run.

"We're very committed to this marketplace," Buberl added. "We're not doing this as a cost-cutting exercise, but rather to reduce complexity and to be quicker to the end user. The complexity costs we save we can reinvest into R&D."

With this merger comes the move of the PCS business, currently located in St. Louis, Missouri, to Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. The new SPD business structure will be in place by March 31, 2013. Burble declined to comment on the financial saving merging PCS and T&O at Research Triangle Park.

Having these businesses come together as one strengthens BASF and its commitment to the specialty markets, and the acquisition of Becker Underwood underscores a continued commitment and investment to grow, said Nevin McDougall, Senior Vice President, North America, BASF Crop Protection.

"The new SPD unit will be built to last for the long term, while meeting the needs of customers in these markets,” McDougall said.

"We are merging the businesses to stay ahead of the curve of the industries we serve,” said Buberl. “As the T&O and Pest Control markets move closer together, this merger puts us in a position to better serve our customers.”

Buberl added that, for the time being, the move would have no impact on BASF distribution channels in those markets.

Key changes related to this reorganization include the business manager roles of PCS and T&O being dissolved and consolidation of the PCS and T&O marketing departments. Dan Carrothers, formerly PCS Business Manager, and Brian Lish, formerly T&O Business Manager, assume the newly created roles of SPD Marketing Manager and Strategic Account Manager, respectively. Both Carrothers and Lish will report directly to Jan Buberl.

In addition to a strategic account sales structure and approach, SPD sales also includes an inside sales force and a traditional field sales approach that is divided into three regions for both key businesses. Three regional sales managers overseeing these territories will have both T&O and PCS field sales representatives reporting to them and those sales reps will remain dedicated to the respective markets they serve. Both the inside and field sales teams will be led by Jim Derbyshire, National Sales Manager, who will also report to Buberl.