HONOLULU – From the National Pest Management Association’s annual PestWorld convention held in Hawaii this year, FMC Corp. Thursday announced the launch of strategic growth initiatives for the company’s Specialty Products Business. The new opportunities will allow FMC to develop and commercialize valuable chemistries and open new markets through international and domestic SPB partnerships. SPB markets high-performance insecticides, miticides and herbicides for use by pest management, tree, lawn care and golf course professionals.
“FMC SPB’s strategic growth initiatives encompass an exciting series of programs aimed at expanding our presence in the core market segments of termites, general insect pests, and turf & ornamental (T&O) pests,” says Don Claus, director of the specialty products business for FMC. “These new platforms will add to the growth of the Talstar brand, which will remain a significant element of our business.
“In the near term, FMC SPB will grow by partnering with other companies to develop and commercialize new technologies specifically for the pest control and T&O markets,” Claus continues. “Additionally, FMC SPB will launch proprietary herbicide chemistries into new specialty markets through various market-access partners.”
Some of the forthcoming product launches specifically related to FMC SPB’s lawn care and T&O markets include:
- Introduction of a new insecticide, flonicamid, in nursery/landscape and greenhouse segments. An agreement with Osaka, Japan-based pesticide manufacturer Ishihara Sangyo Kaisha (ISK) gives FMC exclusive rights to develop, market and distribute the insecticide throughout the Americas except in Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay. Flonicamid represents a new class of chemistry with a new mode of action that is highly effective against economically important and disease-transmitting pests in the greenhouse and nursery markets. The product has a high degree of target pest selectivity, has demonstrated outstanding plant safety, and will be an important new tool in integrated pest management (IPM) programs. In the United States, registration has been obtained for the greenhouse market and is pending for nursery applications. The product will be marketed as Aria(TM) insecticide. Commercialization for this product is expected to begin in the first half of 2005.
- ISK also has granted FMC non-exclusive development and distribution rights to a fungicide for use in some specialty markets in the United States. The new molecule will represent FMC’s first fungicide in the specialty market. Additional details will be available in the near future.
- In collaboration with Bayer CropScience, FMC has developed a number of new products that combine two market-leading active ingredients. This new product range will be co-marketed in the professional T&O segment commencing in the first quarter of 2005. Additional announcements on these products are expected in the very near future.
On the structural pest control side of the industry, FMC also notes that it is exploring the licensing of its SmartBiz software for Dow AgroSciences’ Sentricon Termite Colony Elimination System and its authorized operators. Additionally, FMC has reached an agreement with Arise Technologies to co-develop a new product and service that would utilize the SmartBiz software platform to develop Web sites for servicing pest management professionals’ homeowner customer accounts. This would allow homeowners to view the status of their account and service history including inspections, treatments and billing.
Also, FMC has signed development and distribution agreements with agrochemical and pharmaceutical manufacturer Nippon Soda Co., Tokyo, for exclusive access to acetamiprid in the U.S. termite, indoor and structural general household pest segments, in both the professional and consumer markets. Acetamiprid, which belongs to the neonicotinoid family of insecticides, was discovered and is wholly owned by Nippon Soda Co. Acetamiprid has demonstrated outstanding activity against an array of pests of economic importance to the pest control industry, including termites, ants and roaches. FMC is actively developing new product concepts for all of these segments, and registration and launch of these products in the pest control segment is anticipated in the first half of 2005
Furthermore, FMC is exploring relationships with additional partners to develop and commercialize several other products in the areas of insect, weed and disease control for the professional pest and T&O markets. These relationships are expected to result in FMC bringing multiple new products to market over the next several years.
In addition to the above efforts, a second group of initiatives call for the commercialization of new products that leverage proven chemistries from FMC, adapting their application from one segment to others. Examples include carfentrazone and sulfentrazone for the industrial vegetation management markets, such as aquatics and forestry.
“We are fully committed to the continued growth of the Talstar(R) family of insecticides,” Claus says. “As key public health pests such as mosquitoes, ticks and cockroaches grow in importance due to the public concern over issues such as West Nile Virus, Lyme disease and asthma,” Claus continues, “the Talstar line of products will continue to help PMPs protect life and property with real public health pest solutions.”