Aquatrols unveils five new products, severs Simplot ties

Golf Course News, Jan 2002 by Overbeck, Andrew

CHERRY HILLS, N.J. - Like most companies in the golf business, Aquatrols has put 2001 behind them and is looking towards 2002 with more optimism. The company has reason to be optimistic since it is introducing five new products that will hit the market in February.

"We are much more excited about 2002," said vice president for sales and marketing Ron Gagne. "We have three new formulations for existing products and two brand new products that utilize new chemistry."

The company's Primer surfactant has a new Select formulation that will allow superintendents to fine tune rates based on course conditions. It is also available as a spreadable, water dispersal granular (SWDG). Its Aqueduct product is also available as a SWDG.

"This allows for lighter rates and the new granular formulation dissolves the minute water hits it," said Gagne.

NEW CHEMISTRY

Aquatrols has improved on its wetting agent technology with the introduction of Dispatch, which is seven times faster than its existing Infiltrex product.

"Dispatch completely overwhelms Infiltrex," noted Gagne. "It allows water to penetrate almost immediately reducing runoff and evaporation, thereby reducing water and electricity consumption." While the product only lasts a couple of weeks, Gagne said it costs $4.25 an acre.

The company's other brand new product is an algaecide that is currently nameless because the Environmental Protection Agency did not approve the original name.

"I have been doing this for 30 years," Gagne said, "and I have never had the EPA reject a name."

The new algaecide uses a form of copper that carries a double positive charge allowing it to distribute itself evenly throughout a pond and last longer than conventional copper algaecides that only have a single positive charge.

"The advantage is that it lasts longer and can be distributed evenly from one location," said Gagne. "Other products require multiple points of entry."

Aquatrols purchased the turf market rights for the product from Arkansas-- based Earth Sciences Laboratories.

In other news, Aquatrols has terminated the supply agreement that it had originally signed with Eco Soil Systems to manufacture a line of private label products.

When Simplot purchased Eco Soil's distribution company Turf Partners and formed Simplot Partners, Aquatrols continued to honor the manufacturing agreement for the new company. That will all change for 2002.

"Going forward we didn't feel that it was an outlet that we wanted to keep going," said Gagne. "It had nothing to do with Simplot Partners, and more to do with the fact that we felt it was interfering with our branded products."

The products in question include Brilliance, Rely II, Rely Granular, ReWet, ReWet Granular, and Syringe. Simplot Partners said that it will continue to market and sell the products but declined to disclose whether the company will manufacture the products itself or sign another outsourcing agreement.