Valent U.S.A. Corporation (“Valent”) and Nufarm Americas Inc. (“Nufarm”) have announced that Valent has entered into an agreement that appoints Nufarm as the exclusive distributor of its branded products for professional turf, ornamental and aquatic uses in the United States, effective February 16, 2014.
In doing so, Valent and Nufarm will effectively combine the product portfolios of the two companies into one broad portfolio that will be sold by Nufarm in the U.S. and will feature Nufarm’s leading product offerings such as Escalade and Millennium Ultra Herbicides and its Cleary line of fungicides, along with Valent’s brands which include Safari Insecticide, Arena Insecticide, SureGuard and Clipper Herbicides and Tourney Fungicide.
The newly combined portfolio of the two companies will be powered by a team of both Nufarm and Valent talent, as the sales and technical teams of both companies join forces to bring enhanced service and support to customers.
“This partnership will unite two highly complementary businesses to bring our customers one of the largest and most complete portfolios in the industry,” said Andy Lee, executive vice president and chief operations officer at Valent. “Combining our strengths in technical development, product development and operational activities will enable accelerated delivery of innovative, value-added solutions to the turf, ornamental and aquatics market.”
Darryl Matthews, general manager for Nufarm in North America, added, “We are excited to join forces with Valent to create substantial value for our customers. We each bring complementary strengths to the market, and by combining these resources with customer collaboration, we will generate new and innovative solutions that uniquely fit the needs of the market.”
Under the terms of this agreement, Nufarm will offer the entire line of Valent branded products for professional golf course, lawn and landscape, production ornamental and aquatic use under the Valent brand name. This agreement excludes Valent’s business in the agricultural crop protection, seed protection, consumer home and garden, industrial vegetation management, forestry, pest control, timber treatment, public health and animal health markets.
The U.S. agreement between Valent and Nufarm builds on the many successful distribution collaborations established between Valent’s parent company, Sumitomo Chemical Company, Limited, and Nufarm Limited since Sumitomo’s strategic investment in the global Nufarm Limited business in 2010.
“This is a very exciting time as our two companies work together to form a top-tier organization that is positioned in a leadership role with customers and partners,” said Lee. “We anticipate the value and innovation Valent and Nufarm will bring to our customers in years to come.”