As part of this outreach, FMC Corporation introduces FMC Professional Solutions, dedicated to providing innovative solutions to the pest control and green industries. Formerly known as FMC Specialty Products Business, the organization's director, Dan Rosenbaum, explains that the name change heralds the beginning of a new era of Customer-Driven Innovation™ for the organization, which is a part of the global FMC Corporation.
"We chose to rename our organization as a way of demonstrating our dedication to providing creative solutions that answer a direct need in the marketplace," says Rosenbaum. "This organization is wholly focused on and driven by our customers' needs."
The history of FMC is steeped in innovation and success in bringing new technologies to the market. "FMC Professional Solutions is part of a larger global company that has endured and succeeded because of its commitment to innovation," explains Rosenbaum. "Our company provides some of the staples of every day life such as pharmaceuticals, pulp and paper products, textiles, glass, ceramics, rubber, plastics, lubricants and many other items."
With its heritage of fierce independence and dedication to customers, FMC first entered the pest control industry in 1987 and has since expanded its portfolio to address market needs in the nursery, turf, ornamental, golf, aquatics and other segments.
"Over the years FMC has become known for being a constant and reliable business partner in a marketplace dominated by mergers, acquisition and uncertainty," says Rosenbaum. "We continue as FMC, seeking new and better ways to actively involve the customer at the beginning of the innovation process. Our new Innova Solutions™ initiative is one way in which we seek to do this."
This initiative, called Innova Solutions, was launched in 2005. "Innova Solutions was created to help answer two key strategic needs - expansion of our product line and aggressive innovation," explains Jim Collins, Innova Solutions general manager. "The goal of Innova Solutions is to focus our global efforts and bring new solutions to our customers as efficiently and quickly as possible." The company's goal is to shorten the development cycle for products from the traditional 10 to 15 years to between two to four years. The initiative has already produced positive results. For example: • Through an agreement with Nippon Soda, Co. of Japan, FMC gained access to the insecticidal active ingredient acetamiprid. Acetamiprid is the active ingredient in Transport™ roach bait, launched in the fall of 2005. • Through an agreement with Japanese chemical supplier Ishihara Sangyo Kaisha, FMC commercialized the new insecticidal active ingredient flonicamid under the brand name Aria™ insecticide in the greenhouse industry. • Allectus™ turf and ornamental insecticide combines the power of two industry leading insecticides, and is marketed by Bayer CropScience, under an agreement with FMC. In addition to products, FMC Professional Solutions will continue to provide an expanding array of value-added services, technical support offerings, training and educational opportunities and stewardship programs to the pest control and green industries.
"As our marketplace becomes more and more commoditized, these services become conversely more threatened, and more needed by our customers," says Rosenbaum. "When our customers purchase FMC products, they are getting much more than the product itself. We want to continually communicate this to our customers, and work with them to explore how we can provide more value to their business."