After two years in the making, the merger between global companies Dow AgroSciences, DuPont Crop Protection and Pioneer Hi-Bred will be complete, when at 9:30am on Monday 3 June, the New York Stock Exchange bell will ring and Corteva Agriscience will officially become a publicly listed company.
Corteva Agriscience Managing Director for Australia & New Zealand, Rob Kaan, said “the two years of transition has led to the formation of a company that is squarely focused on agriculture and the needs of our customers”.
Mr Kaan continues “Corteva Agriscience is a world-class technology company delivering high quality products which provide solutions to food and fibre producers, with a focus on consumer expectations and needs”.
“Moreover, our commercial people, our regulatory and research people and all our supporting functions are singularly focused on one industry. This makes the new company quite distinct from other players and different from our legacy businesses”.
“We want our people to be recognised as technically strong and leaders in the agriculture markets and regions in which we focus” he said.
Corteva Agriscience Integrated Field Sciences Leader for Australia and New Zealand, Tom Loveless, said the creation of this company from the global merger had led to a different way of thinking.
“By bringing these heritage companies together we've got the ability to utilise some of the best techniques from each, but also the ability to challenge ourselves with different ways of thinking”.
“That applies not only to setting discovery targets and the actual science behind molecule discovery but also what is the best way to conduct field trials or even launch products. I think that this refinement in how we operate across the board is probably one of the strengths of a merger that has been fairly smooth and successful”.
Mr Loveless said in Australia there would be continued support for legacy products but also some new technologies coming through the Seed, Crop Protection and Digital pipelines.
“There is some really exciting stuff coming through” he said. “There are some true new modes of action in specific focus areas for us but also unique or different classes of chemistry, in all categories of the portfolio. On the seed side, we have some exciting trait technologies in development which are well suited to the needs of Australian growers. Finally, we are also looking to leverage our growing digital platform to see where and how this can help Australian growers be more productive and profitable”.
“The fact that we are purely focused on agriculture means that we've got the ability to channel our energy to our farmers, understanding their needs and developing solutions to fulfil those needs”.
Apart from the very clear new focus which is at the heart of the merger, a number of visible changes have already occurred or will roll-out in the near term.
Firstly, the newly merged company ‘Corteva Agriscience’ has relocated to new offices which will result in new contact details. Mr Kaan said “Culturally, it was important that we created something new, to help with a fresh start for a new company, a new beginning in many ways”. While mobile numbers remain the same, email addresses and most landlines will have changed or will be changing.
Secondly, customers will begin to see packaging changes, with the first Corteva Agriscience packaged product landing on store shelves around August.
Despite these changes, it will be very much business as usual for retailers. There is one unified sales team, with unchanged contact numbers, supported by a truly local customer service team with a streamlined ordering system for all products to simplify the process.
Whilst the business is focussing very much on the needs of farmers, it is also increasing the consideration of the consumer into their thinking. “We want food companies, and where it makes sense, large consumer groups to want to talk to us when they've got concerns, or if they want factual information about food production. Globally, Corteva Agriscience is striving to achieve what we call ‘radical openness’ with all stakeholders to ensure we are a trusted and reliable leader in the agriculture value chain” said Mr Kaan.