The 'New' Bayer, One Year Later

What a difference a year makes. When Steve Burt, vice president of Bayer Environmental Science, took the reigns of the company’s Professional Pest Management Business in late 2003, he found himself overseeing an organization with an uncertain future. The company was laboring under a highly restrictive "Hold Separate Order" imposed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which effectively hamstrung the organization’s leadership. The firm’s product portfolio — one of the most extensive in the industry — was undergoing dramatic changes. And employee morale was at an all-time low.

Nearly 18 months later, a very different organization exists. "The biggest change has been successfully getting through the FTC hold separate situation," Burt said. "At the time everyone was pulling in different directions. Now everyone is pulling in the same direction." The result is a company with a renewed sense of purpose, as evidenced by Burt’s expressed commitment to (1) get closer to the customer; (2) develop new products; (3) reinvigorate its termite business; and (4) raise the company’s profile through a series of ambitious sales and marketing initiatives.

CUSTOMER FOCUSED. Shortly after taking on his new role at Bayer, Burt said it became clear that the Professional Pest Management Business needed to become more "customer focused" if it was going to compete successfully in the marketplace. "We weren’t as close to our customers as we needed to be and that had to change," he said. So the group committed itself to what Burt calls "proximity innovation," garnering market intelligence from front-line service personnel so Bayer could develop products and pest management systems with practical application for the end user. "Only by working in close proximity with the PMP can you develop products and services that will meet their needs," he said.

As part of its "proximity innovation" initiative, Bayer regularly invites customers to its state-of-the-art research facility in Clayton, N.C. "We bring as many customers as we can to Clayton to talk to them about our product development efforts," Burt said. "They’re our partners in helping us build better products for the future."

The company also recently unveiled "Bayer Termite University" where customers are brought to the Clayton research facility for advanced termite training. "We’ve got somebody undergoing training at the site most weeks," Burt said. "It’s a hands-on program designed to train the trainer. If you’re a Premise customer, you’ll have access to the site and this service."

"Bayer has made a long-term commitment to the pest management industry, with dedicated research teams focused on brining new solutions to existing and emerging pest problems," added Dr. Nick Hamon, head of Bayer ES’s Technical Development team. The company’s Clayton research facility is a tangible reflection of that commitment.

PRODUCT INNOVATIONS. Products unveiled at the company’s research facility in recent months have included Maxforce Granular Fly Bait, the Maxforce Tick Management System (TMS), and TopChoice Fire Ant granular insecticide. In addition, Bayer recently introduced Maxforce FC Select, a cockroach bait formulation designed to control aberrant-feeding cockroaches. "If our customers are going to be successful," Burt said, "we have to give them new ideas and new products that allow them to make money. We can’t rest on our laurels."

Maxforce Granular Fly Bait features three powerful attractants and the active ingredient imidacloprid to control numerous fly species, including flies resistant to organophosphate and carbamate insecticides. Applied as a broadcast application, placed in bait stations or dissolved in water as a paint-on application, Maxforce Granular Fly Bait controls flies for up to 30 days, according to Hamon. The product also contains the Bitrex bittering agent to help prevent accidental ingestion by children and pets.

The Maxforce Tick Management System, introduced earlier this year after five years of research and testing, was developed through a cooperative effort between scientists at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Bayer. The product attacks the root of the Lyme disease problem in the northeastern United States by treating the primary hosts of the disease — the field mouse and chipmunk. The system consists of a small, plastic bait box featuring a small applicator wick containing fipronil and a bait that is attractive to mice. As the rodent passes through the box, the wick lightly brushes the mouse’s head and shoulder with a low dose of the insecticide, killing the ticks that serve as vectors of the disease — without harming the host. "By treating the rodents in residential properties, we get to the root of the problem and break the cycle of Lyme disease," said Marketing Manager Chuck Cole. "We think the Maxforce Tick Management System provides PMPs with an opportunity to launch and grow their tick control business."

"We know a number of companies that are doing a good job with tick control and making a lot of money, but we want to continue to expand the market," Burt added. "That’s why we invested in a series of tick management training programs in the Northeast earlier this year. We want to help PMPs develop this market."

Like Maxforce TMS, TopChoice fire ant granular insecticide features the active ingredient fipronil. One broadcast application of the ultra-low-dose granule provides 95% control of fire ants for up to one year, according to Burt. TopChoice also controls mole crickets, fleas, ticks and nuisance ants. And, with more than 325 million acres in the southern U.S. infested with fire ants, it’s both a public health threat and a PMP business opportunity.

In the wake of reports of aberrant-feeding cockroaches, one of the most eagerly anticipated products in Bayer’s ever-evolving product line is Maxforce FC Select. "We’ve made a huge financial investment to address this issue," Burt said. "We have 24 strains of aberrant-feeding cockroaches at our Clayton research facility, the most aberrant-feeding cockroaches in one place in the world. We believe we’ve successfully addressed the problem, but if history is any indication, three or four years down the road it’s probably going to happen again, so we’re preparing ourselves should that happen. As an industry leader, we feel that is our role."

The company also has spent considerable time and effort in recent months on its termite product portfolio. It has conducted an extensive retreat study and introduced the Premise seven-year guarantee (visit www.bayerprocentral.com), as well as invested in several product extensions of the Premise line. "We plan to introduce a foam formulation of Premise shortly," Burt said. "Imidacloprid is easy to formulate and easy to use, so it’s well suited for a foam formulation. It won’t be cheap, but the convenience factor will outweigh the cost. The PCO will be able to take a can of Premise foam into a house and use the product in a localized way wherever they encounter termites."

The company also plans to introduce a granular formulation of Premise later this year. "The product will allow the PMP to provide a booster treatment of granular Premise around the perimeter of a house or in a crawlspace," Burt said, extending the life of the initial termiticide treatment. "It’s another way for the PCO to generate additional income, while providing a valuable service to their customers."

MARKETING INITIATIVES. Bayer ES also has ratcheted up its sales and marketing efforts in recent months, as evidenced by its support of Andrew Rogers Racing (see related story), its partnership with the National Historic Trust for Historic Preservation, and its sponsorship of the Bayer Young Scientist of the Year Contest.

"Because Premise comes in a range of formulations and application types, it is ideal for sensitive places like historic sites," Cole said. "As part of Bayer’s commitment to providing responsible, effective termite control, we’re passionate about protecting America’s structures — whether a new home or an historic museum."

"We’re sponsoring the Young Scientist of the Year program because we want to play a leadership role in the industry, and by identifying the next generation of industry researchers we think that’s one way we can do it," according to Burt. "It’s about trying to connect industry research with the actual PMPs in the field. This is not about researchers who are doing work with Bayer materials. It’s what our panel of judges believe is the kind of research that is most valuable to the industry."

The winners of the contest will be announced at NPMA PestWorld in October. "It’s just another way we hope we’re exhibiting a leadership role in the industry," Burt said.