Editor’s note: February PCT included an executive forum interview with Zack Zaki, business director, FMC Global Specialty Solutions. PCT’s online coverage of this interview includes additional articles and information about FMC.
FMC Plans $50 Million Investment in Global R&D It’s no secret that a robust product pipeline is the lifeblood of chemical suppliers serving the structural pest control industry, and FMC Global Specialty Solutions is no exception. “R&D is critical to the long-term success of our business,” observes Zack Zaki, business director, FMC Global Specialty Solutions. “That’s why we’re investing in our innovation infrastructure and strengthening our R&D pipeline.”
In fact, FMC plans to invest more than $50 million over the next three years in a number of capital improvement projects, including a state-of-the-art reconfiguration of a research and greenhouse facility at the company’s Global Research and Development headquarters in Newark, Del.
FMC acquired the 515-acre Stine Research Center campus as part of its acquisition of a portion of DuPont’s crop protection business in 2017. “It’s a state-of-the-art facility that will be the centerpiece of our research efforts in the future,” Zaki said.
FMC plans to reconfigure an existing structure at the facility to enhance its global research and development (R&D) efforts. In support of the project, the company plans to hire 13 new employees over the next three years, which would bring its total of full-time R&D employees at the Delaware campus to approximately 375. The site’s total workforce of nearly 600 includes support staff and contractors.
5 Priorities Moving Forward Setting priorities is critical to the success of any organization. This is particularly true in the highly competitive specialty chemicals business where market conditions and customer expectations can change rapidly.
“Now that the Cheminova and DuPont Crop Protection acquisitions are behind us, we’re investing significant resources in cutting-edge technology that is focused on new chemistries and enhanced formulations for the structural pest control industry,” says Zack Zaki, business director, FMC Global Specialty Solutions.
In its 2018 Sustainability Report, FMC spelled out five key priorities for the business over the next five years. They include:
Technology: Aggressively promote the company’s current product portfolio and accelerate new active ingredients and formulations to meet customers’ evolving needs.
Focus On Chemistry: Invest significantly in R&D to discover and develop new pest control and crop protection technologies.
Market-Driven Innovation: Engage customers and partners to identify, develop and deliver solutions that meet the unique needs of a specific region or country.
Empowered Countries: Operate a globally aligned, regionally focused business model where local commercial strategy and execution is directed at the region- and country-level.
Simplicity: Ensure our tools, processes and organizational structure will allow FMC to be agile, efficient and easy to do business with.
FMC Product Portfolio Features New and Established Products FMC Professional Solutions offers one of the more extensive product lines in the pest management industry. The company’s flagship product, Talstar insecticide, offers long-lasting control of more than 75 pests. “Approved for multiple use sites, Talstar features a flexible label and is one of the most trusted brands in the industry,” says Zack Zaki, business director, FMC Global Specialty Solutions.
The company’s newest product is Scion insecticide with UVX technology, offering immediate control of the toughest pests and continuous residual performance under the harshest environmental conditions, according to the manufacturer.
Scion is powered by gamma-cyhalothrin, the most efficient pyrethroid active ingredient, and the formulation is enhanced by FMC’s proprietary UVX technology, the key to delivering immediate control and a continuous residual. UVX is a multi-component formulation engineered to provide true 90+ day performance even in conditions that degrade other products, according to Zaki.
Other products in FMC product line include:
EndZone Insecticide Sticker Talstar Xtra Verge Insecticide
To learn more about FMC’s complete product line, contact your sales representative or visit www.fmcprosolutions.com/Home/Products.aspx .
Breakdown of Sales By Region The FMC Agricultural Solutions segment, which represents approximately 91 percent of the company’s consolidated revenue, serves the agrochemical industry, including structural pest control. This segment develops, manufactures and sells a portfolio of professional pest control, crop protection, and lawn and garden products. The FMC Agricultural Solutions portfolio is composed of three major pesticide categories: insecticides, herbicides and fungicides. The majority of its product lines consist of insecticides and herbicides, but it does have a fast-growing fungicide segment as well.
“One of the strengths of our business is the fact our revenues are more or less evenly distributed among the four regions served by FMC Agricultural Solutions,” says Zack Zaki, business director, FMC Global Specialty Solutions, “so we have less financial exposure if our business was concentrated in a particular part of the world.”
(Source: FMC Corporation 2018 Annual Report)
American Chemistry Council Honors FMC With Safety Award FMC Corporation was recently recognized with two prestigious American Chemistry Council (ACC) Awards including the Responsible Care Company of the Year Award and a Sustainability Leadership Award for 2019.
“We are very proud to be recipients of the Responsible Care Company of the Year Award and the Sustainability Leadership Award,” said Linda Froelich, director of corporate sustainability at FMC. “FMC employees are committed to operating safely which is evident in our new record low global total recordable injury rate. This commitment to safety extends to our views on operating sustainably as we have exceeded our goal on spending 80 percent of our R&D budget to develop sustainably advantaged products while reducing energy and greenhouse gas emissions intensities as well as waste and water intensities at our manufacturing sites.”
FMC is recognized for leadership in environmental, health, safety and security performance with the Responsible Care Company of the Year Award for its TH!NK. SAFE. program which is at the core of the company's safety commitment. TH!NK. SAFE. fosters a dynamic safety culture through interactive programs that engage all levels of the organization.
The ACC also presented FMC with the Sustainability Leadership "Transparency & Collaboration" Award for its Product Stewardship & Sustainability Assessment tool that helps the company assess and determine the sustainability of its active ingredients and products through each stage of discovery and development.
