Envu execs talk FMC purchase, name change and M&A action

Editor’s note: This article has been edited for length and clarity.

Editor Brian Horn sat down with Envu’s CEO Gilles Galliou and Mark Schneid, the head of commercial operations for North America. Horn met with the executives during the National Association of Landscape Professionals’ Elevate in early November to talk about a few recent developments with the company.

What does the purchase of FMC's Global Specialty Solutions mean for lawn care service providers?

Gilles Galliou: It means an opportunity to create new solutions. In the short term, we combine two teams and two portfolios that are very synergistic or very compatible. More than anything else, it combines the focus of one company with the tools of another and the knowledge of the other. It will give us the opportunity to create additional solutions in the future. For the people working directly in the field, it'll translate into an easier way of doing business and, but it will also translate very soon into new tools, new solutions, new discovery, hopefully, and the use of the best technology across portfolios.

Mark Schneid: The reason we were divested from Bayer is exactly the same reason FMC divested from GSS (Global Specialty Services), which is they wanted to focus on the growers and the farmers. And as such, what we believe is there's a lot of technology and opportunity that's not been fully exploited. And that's exactly what we want to do. As a standalone company fully focused on this, we have more resources dedicated both in R&D and, from a business perspective, to help our lawn and landscape customers. Not only in the short term, as Gilles said, but how can we fully unleash the value and opportunity for this industry to step up as a leader? And we will combine the companies. Obviously, we're going to run them separately for now. So, it's business as usual, but as we progress, we want to do it with a plan and bring this together into a single organization, exploiting the innovation from both sides.

What kind of general feedback on the industry are you hearing from lawn care operators?

MS: That they've got businesses that are healthy for the most part. They have some challenges with costs around labor, around fuel. They're looking to create protocols that work and keep customers loyal to them, as well as to gain new customers. They're also looking, obviously to say, ‘Okay, how can I get products that help me be smarter in how I run my business?’ Whether that be longer lasting, whether that be doing multiple things, whether that be turning around and offering a higher level  of utility against some of those key paths -- which all of those things help them keep customers, get new customers and improve their business?

GG: I think Mark said it said it extremely well. Also, lawn care companies are looking for maybe expansions and new markets. We did acquire In2Care, which is a company that is specialized in mosquito control in a different way with a regular monthly repetitive business model. This is typically what lawn care operators are looking for, which is expansion to segments that are just at reach to them with technology that that will create a business model that is interesting for them.

It's been two years since changing your name from Bayer to Envu. How has that been received?

MS: We’ve done a far better job over the last two years … to see the ENVU name out there. We had no awareness when we started. In the background, we've also been transitioning from Bayer labels to Envu labels too. So that takes, because of the regulatory process, a significant amount of time. We're off to a great start. We believe, again, it's not just the products and the labels, but we're building the DNA around who we want to be, which is that trusted partner, the environmental visionary, and a leader in this industry.

That comes through products, that comes through our partnership with the National Association of Landscape Professionals, but it also comes with having our people out in the field in situations to work with the LCOs to make sure they're successful. I know we're going to continue to turn around and deliver that message. We also believe that as we expand into new areas and give them the additional areas where they can grow their business, we're going to become hopefully a more valuable as a partner to them and share in their success. Because that's really what it's all about.

How does the private equity investment in the industry and the large amount of merger and acquisition activity affect how you do business?

GG: It creates strong partners throughout the chain. I think there is a trend that private equity is interested in this market because it has a lot of the values that they're looking for. It's predictable, it's crisis resilient, it is very strong in creating cash, which is exactly what the private equity companies love. It's creating companies that will have more capacity to innovate and more capacity to merge and buy together. I think we'll continue to see some of that.

MS: One about our people and our business, but also most lawn care operators, is that they bring a career of experience -- a deep, deep experience and understanding. As you know, as you get new buyers coming into the industry potentially with different starting points. I do believe the need for leadership to help them figure it out, as well as to help all of our other customers figure it out. Because having people that use products properly get the great results is really important to an individual lawn care company, but it's important to the industry and our freedom to operate.

That's one of the things that I think Gill's saying. We're going to offer our support to whoever needs the support in the best way we can, so they're educated, their people are educated, and they can inform. We offer a full suite of regulatory capabilities too. As we start to think about leadership, it's not just about solutions. It's also about understanding what's happening in the broader world so that we can create an avenue for success as well as a sustained innovation plan that'll help ensure the success of the businesses.

One of the things as a standalone business, we're bringing not just resources to bring products to market or a strong team that loves their customers. Yes, we have all that, but we're really trying to be that true champion for the industry. That means leadership and solutions. That also means leadership and how we deal with stakeholders. If nothing else, the one message I would deliver to all your readers is, we’re committed to ensuring the success of this industry and their success. And we know that if we help  our customers win,  we'll win along the way, too.