Newsworthy, December 1999

LIPHATECH, AEGIS RESEARCH ANNOUNCE PARTNERING AGREEMENT

ATLANTA — LiphaTech Inc. announced at NPCA Pest Management ’99 in Atlanta that it has entered into a partnering agreement with Aegis Research. LiphaTech will serve as the exclusive licensee of Aegis Research products in North and South America. Aegis Research designs both mouse and rat bait stations, which will now be manufactured and marketed by LiphaTech. Further, new pest management and control products will be developed in the future, the companies said, based on the merged expertise of both organizations.

"Aegis brings advanced design engineering and other tools that promote Integrated Pest Management to the partnership. This partnership allows us to blend the strengths of LiphaTech — advanced chemistry — with the strengths of Aegis — advanced design," said Carl Tanner, director of marketing and sales, LiphaTech.

Aegis bait stations drew attention when first introduced last year for an innovative design based on research of rodent behavior. Aegis Research was founded in 1996 in the United Kingdom and introduced its product line to the United States in 1998.

Paragon, which distributes both Aegis Research and LiphaTech products, brought the companies together, a move which eventually led to the partnership.

"LiphaTech found the partnership with Aegis very attractive," said Al Smith, national sales and marketing manager, LiphaTech. "The partnership allows us to provide PCOs with a system approach to rodent management based on research and experience."

Aegis Research says the partnership with LiphaTech will help its effort for global expansion. "The U.S. market is so large," said Nick Issitt, president, Aegis Research. "We wanted to build an alliance with a U.S. company that has compatible products and an established marketing and sales network. LiphaTech and Aegis seemed to be looking for each other. The time was right — it just made sense."

ATLANTA — Orkin Pest Control announced recently it has reached an agreement in principle with Redd Pest Control Company, Inc. of Jackson, Miss., on the acquisition of its pest control business operations.

Orkin, a wholly owned subsidiary of Rollins, Inc., would acquire all the pest control customers of Redd, together with certain assets.

The operations to be acquired under this agreement recorded revenues of about $14 million in Redd’s latest fiscal year. Redd is a leading pest control provider in the Southeast with operations in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee and Texas.

Gary W. Rollins, president of Rollins Inc., said, "We are pleased to acquire one of the premier pest control companies in the Southeast that strategically will strengthen our company."

The acquisition of Redd Pest Control came just two weeks after Orkin announced a similar agreement with PCO Services, Inc., a leading Canadian pest control company.

ROCKFORD, Tenn. — Nisus Corporation, a provider of borate-based pesticide products, has purchased the sales and marketing rights to Tim-bor Professional, a borate-based product line from U.S. Borax Inc.

"Tim-bor and Bora-Care are both successful products, each with distinct advantages. This purchase allows for consolidation that will help us to ensure that each product is focused where it needs to be and that the pest control professional can always get the product best suited for the job and particular pest problem," said Nisus President Kevin Kirkland.

"We are pleased to enter into this agreement," said Philip Ford, U.S. Borax wood protection business manager. "Nisus’ experience and reputation in the pest control industry together with their total commitment to borate-based pesticides will ensure that Tim-bor continues to be a primary solution for remedial wood protection," Ford added.

Nisus will start offering the Tim-bor line on Jan. 1, said Dave Ezell, regional sales director with Nisus.

In January, Nisus will also launch a new borate product, Ni-bor, for general pest control. "In the past, Tim-bor has carried general pest control uses as a dust, but it has been a little difficult to get in to application equipment," Ezell said. Ni-bor will be packaged in a "flexpac," which can be used as an application device. The product can be applied directly from the flexpac into cracks and crevices, making it easier than it was in the past to use borate as a general pest control tool. Additional uses for Ni-bor will include application as a spray.

Borate, an inorganic mineral mined from naturally formed deposits in the earth, is toxic to many insects, including wood-destroying organisms, such as termites, wood-destroying beetles and carpenter ants. Earlier this year, borates were added as a permitted treatment type to HUD documentation and listed by the Southern Building Code for termite pretreatment in new construction.

U.S. Borax produces half of the world’s need for borates from its mine and refinery in California’s Mojave Desert. Borates are key ingredients in the manufacture of glass, fiberglass, ceramics, detergents, wood preservatives, fertilizers and many other products.

"U.S. Borax will continue to support the pest control industry and will focus on new opportunities for growth and development in wood protection," Ford said.

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — A Rhone-Poulenc product anticipated by pest control professionals for its control of termites received regulatory approval by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in October. The product, Termidor, received EPA approval less than a year after label submission.

The EPA approval of fipronil as a termiticide is the latest in a series of applications for the insecticide, which range from agricultural uses to a proprietary use in a veterinary product to control fleas and ticks in dogs and cats.

Termidor is non repellent and is in the family of Phenylpyrazol insecticides. The product is already commercially available for use in other countries throughout the world.

The company expects Termidor to be available for professionals before termite season next year.

PHILADELPHIA — FMC Corporation has signed a letter of intent for the purchase of the PowerRoute software code, product line and assets from FrontRunner Technologies of Phoenix.

FMC will market exclusively into the pest control, lawn care, golf and agricultural segments. As part of the agreement, FMC will grant an exclusive license to FrontRunner Technologies to market these products in other business se market these products in other business segments.

Terms were not disclosed. The agreement is subject to negotiating a definitive agreement and to the necessary government approvals.

"We expect this purchase to enhance the technology aspects of our business, providing us with a direct path to reach our goal of becoming the leading solutions provider in the markets where we do business," said James R. Collins, general manager, Specialty Products Business in FMC Corporation’s Agricultural Products Group.

"This transaction will also provide long-term opportunities for FMC and increased value for our customers."

The most recent release of this software, PowerRoute 2000, is used by professionals in service industries, including pest control and landscape management. It is able to handle daily operations from sales tracking to finance management. Power-Route 2000 and FMC’s new SMARTRAK software for termite baiting are fully integrated, offering pest control operators a total business solution.

FMC and FrontRunner Technologies emphasized their commitment to maintaining uninterrupted service and support to new and existing customers during the transition.

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Pest Control Association held its annual Alliance meeting this summer in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. A record number 400 pest control professionals met for four days, hearing from financial and marketing speakers how to better run their pest control businesses. TPCA is again hosting its annual meeting in Playa Del Carmen this summer. Registration brochures are available this month.

YONKERS, N.Y. — Noble Pine Products has announced that J.C. Ehrlich Chemical Co., York Distributors, Southern Mill Creek Products Co., Residex Corp., Summit Chemical Co., Esco Distributors and Van Waters & Rogers Inc. are authorized distributors of the company’s product Steri-Fab. Steri-Fab kills lice, bed bugs, fleas, ticks and dust mites, bacteria, fungus, mold, mildew, viruses and deodorizes, according to the company.

Also, be sure to check out the company’s website at www.sterifab.com.

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Omega Pest Management was one of seven businesses and one government group to be honored by Washington Governor Gary Locke and Department of Ecology Director Tom Fitzsimmons at the Washington state capitol in September for extraordinary leadership and innovation in preventing pollution at their facilities.

The Governor’s Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Pollution Prevention are issued annually to businesses and government agencies that have found ways to offer services and make products while reducing the amount of hazardous waste generated.

Locke and Fitzsimmons presented Omega with the awards.

Omega was honored for its continuing efforts to find new, environmentally safe methods to pest control.