Articles from Auriga Magasinet No. 3, November 2005
United Suppliers – efficient distributors
Both manufacturers and distributors of plant protection products must be responsible partners when doing business with farmers.
Based in the small town of Eldora in the north of Iowa, the agricultural supply company United Suppliers has 28 warehouses in 14 states from Tennessee in the south to North Dakota in the north.
United Suppliers’ sales last year topped 1,750 million USD, having grown continuously since its start 17 years ago.
“We stock nearly all the main producers’ products, and have built up the best bulk terminal in the USA where the products are stored in large tanks before being shipped to customers as the orders come in,” explains Dave Hoyt, who heads United Suppliers’s chemicals division. The company also has other activities, including its own transport company with 60-70 large trucks out on the roads.
United Suppliers has an extremely large bulk terminal facility in the USA. Products are
transported from the tanks at the terminal to end-users spread across this vast
agricultural country.
Major challenges
The advance of biotechnology has brought big changes for distributors.
“Glyphosate has within a short time become our biggest single product. We find that more and more patents are expiring on other products, and this has intensified competition between several producers. We are delighted that Cheminova launched their glyphosate product on the American market. For the farmers competition means that prices come under pressure, which saves them money. Therefore, as distributors, we need to have as many different products on our shelves as possible so we can supply a broad portfolio to the individual farmer. Like Cheminova, we are a small organisation, and the two companies are therefore well matched. We speak the same language, as the saying goes,” remarks Dave Hoyt.
He anticipates considerable challenges in the coming years – for producers and for distributors.
“It is a question of having competent, experienced and committed employees, so costs can be kept down. At the same time, producers and distributors must be responsible partners when doing business with farmers. These are important values, both for United Suppliers and Cheminova,” concludes Dave Hoyt.
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