In 1982, two friends named Roger Underwood and Jeff Becker started a little company that bore their names with a single product. Several acquisitions and 30 years later, Becker Underwood is a global leader in the development and commercialization of seed-applied biological products and is now part of the BASF Crop Protection family.
“It’s been quite a ride particularly over the last ten years,” said Peter Innes, who has been Chairman and CEO of Becker Underwood and now will be Global Senior Advisor to the BASF Crop Protection division with the acquisition. “We have a major strength in our technical expertise, in our innovation, we like to bring new and different products to the market.”
Peter says the acquisition will help bring those products to new markets, such as India and China. He talks about that and more in this interview from the ASTA 2012 CSS and Seed Expo last week: Interview with Peter Innes
Effective January 1, 2013, most businesses of Becker Underwood will join the newly established global business unit “Functional Crop Care” under BASF’s Crop Protection division, headed by Dr. Jürgen Huff, Senior Vice President. “With this new global business unit we want to offer farmers a complete and holistic portfolio consisting of seed treatment products, complemented by Becker Underwood’s biologicals portfolio,” said Jürgen. “In addition we’re going to add a part of the business which we call “Innovation Beyond Crop Protection” – projects and products aimed at water management and better nutrient management for plants.”
Jürgen has been with BASF since 1995 and was actually involved in leading a polymer laboratory when he joined the company. “We are very excited with the new Becker Underwood team to bring new great things to the market,” he said.
Listen to my interview with Jürgen here: Interview with Jürgen Huff