Boise—J. R. Simplot Co. said April 20 that production is ramping up at its new Gal-Xeone controlled-release polymer coating production facility at its Lathrop, Calif., manufacturing complex. The unit is expected to come online later this spring. This is the second facility to produce the product; a Florida facility is run by licensee partner Florikan. When in full production, Simplot said the new capability will not only increase the availability of the Gal-Xeone-coated nutrients, but enable wider distribution and immediate access in-market to western United States and international customers. Simplot said the product is ideally suited for the turf, horticulture, landscape, nursery, and specialty agricultural market segments that are prevalent throughout the western U.S. “Our customers have come to expect high quality, innovative products, and dependable service delivery,” said Jeff Roesler, vice president of Simplot’s Specialty AgriBusiness team. “This production facility gives us flexibility that we have not had in the past.” “We continue to look for innovative opportunities to better serve our customers,” said Garrett Lofto, president of Simplot’s AgriBusiness Group. “When we purchased this technology, it became clear that we needed to expand our production in order to best meet our customers’ demands, and this new production will enable us to do that in the domestic and international markets we serve.” Simplot said Gal-Xeone polymer coating effectively controls nutrient release over an extended period of time – up to 18 months. This technology provides predictable release of plant nutrients throughout the growing cycle, and was developed with the assistance of NASA’s Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program (SATOP).
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain