In a webinar held Dec. 4, Paul Rea, head of BASF Crop Protection USA, announced the closing of the acquisition of Becker Underwood. The sale, which took place Nov. 28, will integrate the company bit by bit through 2013.
“We plan to keep a keen eye on business continuity while integrating Becker Underwood,” stated Rea, who later introduced Peter Innes, chairman and chief executive officer at the newly acquired company.
“In 2012 we celebrated our 30th anniversary,” said Innes of Becker Underwood’s history in the industry. “We were privately held before, coming from humble origins in Iowa in 1982, but the company has grown to a multinational level. We’re in the business of manufacturing and marketing, specifically biologicals and other specialty products. We have been trying to harness biological polymers, so we’re thrilled to be partnering with BASF.”
Innes emphasized the importance of biologicals to the ag industry: “We are entering the year of the biological. We are now beginning to understand how to harvest that power. In the markets we’re addressing, we think that by 2020 they will be an $8 billion market.”
Jurgen Huff, senior vice president at the BASF Functional Crop Care unit, explained that the industry giant began with textile dyes, then got involved in agriculture, and finally delved into fertilizers. “We have a long-standing history in ag, and have added a lot of components since the fertilizer and dye days,” he said. “Some growth has happened organically; some has happened through acquisitions. In the end, though, we want to bring sustainable solutions to agriculture and the growers, our customers, and the acquisition of Becker Underwood will put us in a better position to do that by bringing us great people, great new knowledge and great insight.”
For more information on Becker Underwood, click here.
(Source: BASF Webinar)