Enkhuizen, The Netherlands and Collierville, Tennessee, USA
December 16, 2010

INCOTEC and FBSciences, Inc. have reached an agreement on basic terms for a global partnership to test, develop and commercialize new seed treatment and coating technologies for the seed industry. Under the agreement made during the 2010 American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) Seed Expo recently held in Chicago, FBSciences’ active ingredients for seed treatment will be combined with INCOTEC’s seed coating and application technologies as pre-mixed packages to be marketed to growers for use in field crops, ornamentals and vegetables. INCOTEC will be responsible for marketing and distributing these pre-mixed product packages to the global seed industry as part of the agreement.

FBSciences, an emerging leader in innovative technologies to improve plant health and productivity, is finalizing development of a plant growth regulator (PGR) that benefits plant growth, particularly plant germination, emergence, and rooting. INCOTEC is renowned for its highly sophisticated seed coating technology developed for applying actives that protect and stimulate plants after germination. In combination with other technologies developed by INCOTEC companies can offer a broad spectrum of sophisticated seed enhancement products to improve the quality of all kinds of seed from Field Crops to vegetables. This new partnership enables both INCOTEC and FBSciences to enter and market into a new business segment where crop nutrition and root development can complement crop protection.

Both parties believe that this combined effort will bring a new standard to modern agriculture. It will provide growers all over the world with a new and unique seed applied PGR to stimulate root growth, make plants more productive under high management growth methods or stronger under stressful conditions, such as drought, and, consequently, increase crop yields.

JanWillem Breukink, CEO INCOTEC Group states, “INCOTEC is investing heavily in searching for and testing actives to apply to all kinds of seeds. We are looking for actives that can protect the plant from external factors and also stimulate its growth under conditions which are not always optimal. We are delighted to join forces with FBSciences to combine the unique expertise of both companies. We see this partnership as the beginning of a new phase in the further development of INCOTEC. This new development focuses on stacking multiple actives into unique product market combinations”.

Peter Stromberg, CEO of FBSciences states “As crops originate from seeds, enhancing crop growth through better seed germination, emergence and rooting is important to improved plant health and enabling better crop protection. Seed coating is the ideal carrier of FBSciences innovative plant growth regulator products that are designed to deal with crop establishment. We are very happy to establish this global partnership with INCOTEC to assist us in bringing our technology to market. The combination of the expertise and technology of both companies will, we believe, provide truly innovative products to the industry, and this cooperation will assist growers to feed the world in the coming decades.”

Collie Lowrance, FBSciences’ Executive Vice President, notes that “This partnership between FBSciences and INCOTEC will truly deliver what growers everywhere require: more from less. With this partnership, FBSciences will be better able to develop PGR tools for intensive agriculture that will also be accessible to small-scale growers in developing countries”.

INCOTEC Group, with headquarters in the Netherlands, is worldwide leader in coating and seed technology serving the agronomic, vegetable and flower seed industry worldwide. Winner of the Erasmus Innovation Award 2009.
INCOTEC activities are located in the USA, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Brazil, Japan, India, Australia, China and South Africa.

FBSciences, Inc., is a life sciences company committed to helping farmers around the world achieve optimal plant health and crop performance through innovative, scientific principles. FBSciences is headquartered in Collierville, Tenn.

Website: http://www.seedquest.com/id/i/Incotec.htm

Published: December 16, 2010