SePro Expands Research and Technology Capabilities

Whitakers, N.C. – In August 2004, when SePro Corp. announced it purchased a 410-acre research complex, it represented more than two years of negotiations. Rather, the establishment of the SePro Research and Technology Campus characterized the spirit of expansion, development and self-sufficiency that has become the hallmarks of the company’s success. The purchase opened new doors of research and technical innovation for the company’s business units while allowing the company to transfer previously outsourced activities – such as product formulation, packaging, warehousing and distribution – to an in-house process within one facility.

SePro, a specialty agrichemical company based in Carmel, Ind., provides plant protection and management products and services that fit specialized niche markets such as aquatic vegetation management, ornamental and turf management, and tree and shrubbery growth regulation.

SePro founder, president and c.e.o. William H. Culpepper, a Nash County, N.C. native, spent more than 25 years with Eli Lilly and DowElanco in various sales, marketing and management roles before establishing the company in 1994.

“We don’t do discovery or find new molecules,” Culpepper says. “Discovery is too costly but not the most costly when bring a product to market. We will sign exclusive marketing agreements with bigger companies and develop products for small markets like turf.”

Some of the company’s products include Sonar and Renovate aquatic herbicides, A-Rest and Topflor plant growth regulators, Cutless turf and landscape ornamental growth regulators, Talus insect growth regulator, Decree fungicide and Profile tree growth regulator. New products include Cutless G, a granular plant growth regulator for shrubs and hedges, and Octane, a contact postemergent herbicide for the lawn care market.

“Aquatics is our No. 1 claim to fame,” Culpepper says. “There are only eight molecules in aquatic herbicides, and all of them are needed. There’s a focus to keep them on the market.”

The company has 22 products with 15 active ingredients in the turf and ornamentals market, he says.

“We will invest in products and make them better,” he says.

The company, which has 65 employees, also owns ReMetrix LLC, an invasive vegetation and aquatic ecosystems mapping and monitoring company, ParaPro LLC, a life sciences company developing technology for the control of head lice for human health, and FlightControl Plus, a humane Canada goose repellent. Serving these specialized and highly regulated markets requires the company to keep research and development as a core capability of its business. This commitment is reflected by the purchase and development of the SRTC.

The Research and Technology Campus consists of 79 acres of woodland and 296 acres of cleared land, including a 13-acre lake, several small irrigation ponds and 11 acres of research ponds and mesocosms. These small waterbodies were integral to the company’s decision to purchase the property and provide capability to conduct aquatic research. The facility is an ideal location for advancing the science of aquatic plant management because of mild weather and because it lies at nearly perfect latitude to meet the company’s aquatic research requirements. Cool- and warm-season aquatic plants, as well as turf grasses and ornamental species, thrive in eastern North Carolina.

“We don’t do anything but spend money here,” Culpepper says.

Additionally, the site expands the company’s laboratory capabilities and allows for additional cooperative research opportunities with such institutions as North Carolina State University. The property also provided ample space for researchers to conduct testing on its other products and technologies such as those in the turf and ornamental product line.

“Research is very expensive,” Culpepper says. “The risk is high. You have to do a good job upfront determining if the product is a good one and is needed.”

After purchasing the property, the company modified the laboratory from an agricultural to an aquatic testing facility by constructing growth rooms and an aquarium for evaluating existing and new products. It upgraded seven acres of land by installing an advanced irrigation system to establish a turf and ornamental research test site, simulating a golf course setting in some areas. Although the property already had extensive underground irrigation, the company installed a specialized irrigation system for its turf and ornamental research facility and made many upgrades to the ponds regarding filling and draining for research purposes.

A 79-acre stand of pines on the property has been thinned and is being managed for saw timber production. There’s also a five-acre pecan orchard on the farm available for research. The remaining acres that aren’t being used for research purposes are leased to a commercial sod-growing business.

The SRTC enables SePro to manage its products better through each phase of production; from research and development, to formulation and packaging, and distribution.

A milestone recently was celebrated with the first production campaign at the SRTC when a formulation batch of A-Rest was prepared and packaged at the facility, marking the first time a company product was formulated and readied for distribution, from start to finish, by not outsourcing. GCN