The Anderson’s OBIC Experience
October 2, 2008

About a year ago, Chuck Anderson, Director of Technical Services and Marketing Development at The Andersons, Inc., was in the midst of the biggest professional turf product launch in the company’s history. The Andersons had just developed a fertilizer dispersible granule targeted at golf courses and thought they were ready to go to market.

At that point, Charlie Carr, Manager of Business and Product Development for The Andersons started a dialogue with Tim Birthisel, Technical Manager of the Turf and Specialty Group, suggesting that the Turf Group talk to the Ohio BioProducts Innovation Center (OBIC) about obtaining state funding. “Initially, they weren’t very excited about it,” says Carr, who is a member of the OBIC Board of Directors. “But I convinced them to talk to OBIC and at least find out what might be available.”

During that first meeting with OBIC, Stephen Myers and Denny Hall saw an opportunity for the Andersons and the state of Ohio. OBIC made a commitment to help The Andersons with an expanded vision that accelerated its existing business plan in Ohio.

What quickly evolved was a new perspective on The Andersons technology. “While we were thinking golf courses, OBIC pushed us to think bigger,” Anderson says. “The collaboration got us to consider using a Third Frontier Research Commercialization Program (RCP) grant to accelerate the development and marketing of our intellectual property.”

The Andersons’ Advanced Granule Technology includes soil dispersing granules product named ContecDGÒ and NutriDG™ that dissolves into the soil when moistened; foliar granules that stick to leaf surfaces to deliver value-added chemicals; and foaming granules being developed to create a “blanket” over target areas while delivering desired chemicals.

Through their relationship with OBIC, The Andersons began a collaboration with The Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC), the nation's largest ag-biosciences center; Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc., a world-leading agribusiness company committed to sustainable agriculture through innovative research and technology; PSB Company, a division of White Castle System, Inc., Columbus, Ohio, a leading manufacturer of granule applicators; and National Lime and Stone Company, Findlay, Ohio, a leading limestone supplier and manufacturer of advanced soil-dispersing granules. Together, this team applied for, and won, a $5 million RCP grant for the development and commercialization of advanced granules and related technologies.

“The grant has allowed our collaborative team to go beyond golf course applications and include horticulture—namely nurseries, floriculture, food (fruits and vegetables), and commodity crops (soy, wheat),” says Anderson. Over the next three years, the team will test multiple technologies and multiple targets at research facilities on The Ohio State University campus. “The collaboration networked by OBIC has brought us to a powerhouse in technical capabilities with OARDC/OSU and encouraged us to expand our market research, see opportunities, and build our thinking into a seven-year commercialization strategy.” “The process took lots of discipline to get everything to happen, but the collaboration created value; it literally changed our business plan.”

”The grant has allowed us to do things we could not have done otherwise,” says Carr. “We are now exploring other uses for our technology and have a much better idea how to market it.” He says, “The whole process of working with OBIC opened our eyes to the different things we can do. OBIC has good information and they are willing to help any company that wants to start up, enhance their process, or expand their presence in Ohio.”