Wilbur-Ellis, San Francisco, Calif., announced that its Nutrition business has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire F.L. Emmert, a manufacturer and marketer of advanced nutritional solutions for the pet and livestock industries. In addition, Wilbur-Ellis has formed a partnership with Guardian Agriculture, developer of the first fully autonomous crop protection aircraft system.
Emmert is a 140-year-old, family-owned company with manufacturing operations in Cincinnati, Ohio, and more than 35 employees. Wilbur-Ellis said the company has a proven track record in animal nutrition, and described it as an innovator with strong research and development capabilities in expanding U.S. and global markets.
“We look forward to welcoming the Emmert team and we’re excited about the capabilities this acquisition provides,” said Matt Fanta, President of Wilbur-Ellis Nutrition. “Emmert supports Nutrition’s strategic priorities and complements our three core businesses – pet, livestock, and aquaculture. The acquisition will expand our product and customer base in pet food with value-added products.”
Wilbur-Ellis said consummation of the acquisition remains subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. “Wilbur-Ellis has a long history of growth through acquisition,” Fanta said. “And in every case, having similar values has been an important consideration. With that in mind, we look forward to having such a strong, value-based organization like Emmert become part of the Wilbur-Ellis Nutrition business.”
The multi-million dollar partnership with Guardian, announced in late June, will give Wilbur-Ellis customers first access to Guardian’s fully electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft system for precision application of crop protection products. Wilbur-Ellis said the autonomous aircraft has four six-foot propellers and an overall width of 15 feet, allowing it to carry a multi-hundred pound payload and cover 40 acres per hour.
“This is the first new aerial technology to make a material impact on American farms,” said Mike Wilbur, CEO of Cavallo Ventures at Wilbur-Ellis. “We believe it can be profitably and rapidly deployed and are looking forward to working with Guardian Ag to roll out their technology to our customers and partners.”
The eVTOL system includes a ground station supercharger and software generating domestically stored data with in-flight monitoring, measurement, and data collection capabilities. Application variables are collected in real-time, including wind speed, temperature, and obstructions, utilizing pre-planned flight plans, designated spray boundaries, and spray rates.
“Guardian’s technology delivers tremendous benefits to both growers and the environment” said Adam Bercu, CEO and Co-founder of Guardian Ag. “Growers can expect a cost-effective application that will solve critical problems with coverage quality, sustainability, repeatability, and eliminate off-target spray and overspray.”
Wilbur-Ellis said Guardian’s regulatory approval process is well under way, with commercialization and availability to growers occurring in 2023. Wilbur-Ellis’ application business currently covers approximately five million acres annually.
“We are excited to make an early investment in this technology, which is the only unmanned aerial application system available today, and we’re even more excited to partner with Guardian to commercialize it and bring it to our customers,” said John Kuhn, Director of Business Development at Wilbur-Ellis.