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Olmix strengthens its Plant Care business with the acquisition of French company, Bois Valor
Press Release | Olmix x Bois Valor
Olmix Group, global specialist in natural solutions for agriculture, finalised on 26th January 2023 the integration of the French biotech company Bois Valor, expert in foliar biostimulants and seed treatment solutions, using substances extracted from wood and plants.
With this acquisition, Olmix intends to accelerate its growth - by consolidating its portfolio of biosourced solutions for soil and plant health and seed protection, while supporting the transition to more sustainable agricultural models in a rapidly changing climate, energy and societal context.
This merger is the result of a common vision shared by the two companies regarding agricultural and agri-food issues, as well as shared values based on an entrepreneurial spirit, a scientific approach to knowledge and the importance of innovation for productive and sustainable agriculture.
Bois Valor: from basic research to providing solutions to market leaders
After 15 years of research in collaboration with the National Superior School of Agronomy of Toulouse (ENSAT) on substances extracted from wood and plants, a team of researchers led by Dr Marie Morard created the company Bois Valor in 2004. The company set up its headquarters, research laboratory and industrial site in Saint-Juéry, near Albi (South-West of France), to exploit the patent that resulted from the research work on a unique extraction process.
The product portfolio consists of registered biostimulants (Autorisation de Mise sur le Marché - AMM), seed coatings and solvent-free extracted plant molecules, all of which are marketed to key players in the agricultural world, leaders in plant protection, biostimulants, seeds and organic fertilisation.
For Dr Marie Morard, founder of Bois Valor: ”Joining Olmix is a major step for Bois Valor. Deeply inspired by a culture of innovation, our team will be able to rely on an international distribution network and change the scale of deployment of our solutions. We share with Olmix Group a common vision of the issues surrounding agriculture and food, a belief in the potential of nature and its rene
Important levers for joint development
By joining Olmix’s Plant Care division, headed by Catherine Lamboley, Bois Valor will benefit from the Group’s international dimension and access to a large network of distributors throughout the world. For Olmix, the integration of Bois Valor’s teams and know-how completes its offer of biostimulant solutions and strengthens its activity, particularly its range of ingredients.
Robert Clapham, Olmix Group’s CEO, underlines the importance of this acquisition in the Group’s growth project: ”After three years of double-digit organic growth, Olmix has made its first acquisition with the integration of Bois Valor, a company that has developed a quality offer and significant know-how, which are perfectly complementary to Olmix Group’s Plant Care activity. This acquisition strengthens our ambition to become the key player in biostimulation solutions for economically and environmentally efficient agriculture and healthy, high-quality food that is accessible to the greatest number of people. We are therefore delighted to welcome Marie Morard, David Lamolinairie and their entire team to Olmix Group.”
Bois Valor and Olmix: a shared vision and values
- The founders of the two companies share a common vision: to amplify innovation in agriculture by enhancing the properties of natural and renewable resources, and thus, to participate in the development of sustainable, productive and profitable agricultural practices.
- Both companies have developed a complementary industrial know-how focused on the extraction of active ingredients and the design of technical solutions for the whole agricultural sector based on natural resources: algae for Olmix, wood by-products and plants for Bois Valor.
- A common imperative to demonstrate the performance and improvement in crop yield of the solutions developed, based on scientific and technical collaborations with research players (INRAE, CNRS), universities (South Brittany, Wageningen, Nottingham) and major agronomy schools (ENSAT, Purpan, UniLaSalle).
About Olmix
Olmix is a global player in natural solutions, alternatives to chemical and pharmaceutical inputs, used in agriculture. The Group has established itself as a specialist in marine biotechnology and green chemistry, thanks to its expertise in the processing and valorisation of algae, a result of numerous investments in R&D.
Olmix now has a range of innovative and recognised products, based in algae, clays, trace elements and organic matter, for two main markets
- Animal Care: natural solutions used in animal nutrition and health, aiming to reduce antibiotics and chemical product
- Plant Care: natural solutions to improve soil structure, nutrition and plant health; that reduce the use of chemical and phytopharmaceutical inputs
Olmix products are distributed in more than 100 countries on 5 continents, via distributors and cooperatives. The Group relies on a network of 28 international locations.
About Bois Valor
Bois Valor is a French company specialising in the extraction of active ingredients from wood and plants, and the development of biostimulants for plants and film coating for seeds. With many years of research, scientific publications and a patent registration on a unique extraction process, Bois Valor supplies the international leaders in plant protection, biostimulants and seeds.
Its biosourced solutions, tested and validated by numerous experiments conducted with universities and agronomy schools, support the vision of its founders: an agriculture based on maximum efficiency of inputs and the optimisation of growing conditions for a modern and environmentally friendly agricultural production.
The company is based in Saint-Juéry near Albi, where it has set up its head office, research laboratory and industrial site.
CONTACT PRESSE
Maxime COIFFET | Director of Institutional Relations and Corporate Communications | mcoiffet@olmix.com | +33 (0)6 63 79 00 60
Laurence GUILLEVIC | Communications Manager | lguillevic@olmix.com | +33 (0)6 07 35 27 14