Peter Blezard knows that his company’s success depends on its ability to convince the global agricultural industry that things need to change. Rising populations and water shortages have made sure of that. The problem, of course, is that farmers, growers, even fertiliser and ag-chem groups, are not known for innovation and new ideas. “And rightly so,” says the chief executive of AIM listed crop science company, Plant Impact Plc (LON:PIM) . “What they use ends up on your food and if you have children it’s on their food too.” Nevertheless, Blezard and Plant Impact are starting to gain ground in their efforts to win over industry support.
Blezard was one of the founding shareholders of Plant Impact when it was set up in Preston in 2003. Since then, the company has developed six core technologies, of which three are the present focus of attention. Among them are calcium delivery treatment InCa, green pesticide BugOil, nitrogen delivery technology PiNT, harvest accelerator Speedo and stress reliever, Alethea. Last summer, BugOil was licensed to Japan’s Arysta LifeScience, the world’s largest privately held crop protection and life science company. That deal promises £20m in royalties for Plant Impact over the next 10 years. Blezard is now on the charge for similar opportunities.
He spoke to Stockopedia News about the market opportunities for Plant Impact and how the company is gradually catching the attention of global agriculture.
Peter, before we talk about Plant Impact can you tell us about your background and what led to the setting up of the business in 2003?
My background is in international sales and marketing – there are not many countries I’ve not been to. My background is not in agriculture, although I have been in it for 10 years now, but my skill set is networking, building relationships and transferring value to other people and that is just about where Plant Impact is now. We are building a value model and a marketing platform and we’re now talking to major ag-chem groups all over the world.
I’m from the local area and there is a cluster of businesses around Preston that seem to have IPO’d and are doing quite well. Obviously there was a big industrial base here that has disappeared and it has got to be replaced with something else. There is a ‘can do’ mentality; I’m not saying it’s…
