MAUMEE, Ohio – The Andersons Inc. announced April 17 it has signed a 10-year product development, marketing and supply agreement with privately held National Lime & Stone of Carey, Ohio, covering DG-Lite, a proprietary lightweight, limestone-based chemical carrier jointly developed and patented by the two companies.
According to a release by The Andersons, DG-Lite allows the carrier to disintegrate when water is applied, providing widespread active-ingredient dispersion. Each dissolved particulate is capable of distributing its chemical ingredients over a wide area, enhancing the effectiveness of the absorbed chemical. As the granules disintegrate, they disappear from the treated surface, which means less opportunity for exposure of pesticides to non-target organisms, like birds, wildlife, pets and people.
The new granular product is effective for soil and turf treatment pesticides, and chemical application rates can be reduced with resulting cost and environmental benefits, according to The Andersons. The new particle is lightweight yet strong enough to withstand the rigors of processing, transportation and application.
"Already DG-Lite is the base for a new consumer garden product being produced by The Andersons Processing Group. The new product is manufactured for a well-known national brand company and is sold in most U.S. big-box retail stores that carry lawn and garden products," said Mike Anderson, president and CEO of The Andersons. "Sales of this new product are double the amount that had been forecast, and are expected to increase 30 percent to 50 percent next year. At the same time, we have several other formulating projects with customers in key markets that could mean incredible growth for DG-Lite."
The Andersons invested about $2 million to establish three production lines in Maumee last October to formulate, mix and package the new product. The plant represents the company’s entry into the small-packaging arena of the $220 million garden side of the lawn and garden industry.
As part of the agreement with National Lime, The Andersons will combine its product and market knowledge with National Lime's manufacturing knowledge to develop a family of lightweight pelleted products that offer chemical and application-specific carrier capabilities.
The agreement provides The Andersons with exclusive marketing rights in the agricultural, lawn and garden, ornamental, horticultural and professional turf markets. National Lime has exclusive rights in a variety of other markets including fluxing agents, flue gas reactive agents and glass batch ingredient consolidation. The Andersons will take the lead marketing role in newly defined markets.
National Lime will be the sole supplier of DG-Lite and similar lightweight pelleted products at the firm's plant in Carey, Ohio.