Johannesburg, South Africa / Basel, Switzerland, 16 March 2016 – Lonza, the global market leader in molluscicide business, and Nulandis, a division of AECI and a major player in the South African plant and soil health business, announced today that they have signed a distribution agreement to distribute Axcela®, Lonza's innovative slug control pellet for agro applications in South Africa.
AXCELA®, the slug and snail pellet from Lonza, sets a high standard for the efficacy and accuracy of slug control products, according to the manufacturer and its distributor. The metaldehyde-based pellet is produced using a high-precision extrusion process, resulting in a pellet that gets to work controlling slugs and snails more quickly than ever before.
For this purpose a unique and new innovative production method has been developed. The resulting new formulation ensures that the protein and starch characteristics of the flour used in the formulation are changed so that water can be absorbed much more quickly after the pellets come into contact with the ground.
This uptake of water increases the pellet volume by 80% to give a gel-like consistency. Thus, the pellets are a highly attractive food source for the slugs and snails, which ensures that the slugs and snails consume enough of the pellet to ingest a lethal dose of the active substance META® metaldehyde; and thereby the crop plants are protected.
AXCELA's precision manufacturing has an additional important benefit: every pellet is of uniform shape, size and density, which allows even and accurate distribution – and importantly, minimal breakage and minimal dust – with all types of application machines.
"With Nulandis we have found an excellent distribution partner for our product. Nulandis has the experience, expertise and advisory skills to distribute innovative products while supporting the farmer community in South Africa," according to Max Lauwiner, head of the Agro Ingredients business unit at Lonza in Basel (CH).
“Nulandis is proud to be associated with Lonza, a company with a long, rich heritage. Both companies strive to meet customers' demands in an ever-growing, complex market that has to deal with more and more competitors entering the market,” said Gawie Simpson, the brand and in-house portfolio manager for Nulandis.
“Nowadays, having a good product is not enough,” he explained. External variables such as drought conditions, an overload of information, poor product manufacturing, product availability and quality can make or break the opportunity to enter a marketplace successfully.”
He added, “Nulandis as an entity is looking forward to a very successful relationship with Lonza, which mirrors the core values of Nulandis, including factors such as sustainability, profitability, going green and working in a safe environment. We welcome Lonza within the Nulandis family.”