Belgian Company Buys Stake in Engage Agro

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Guelph-based crop protection company Engage Agro is selling a minority stake in its business to a Belgian company that also sells crop protection products for specialty crops, including potatoes and vegetables.

Belchim Crop Protection is paying an undisclosed amount in a deal that’s supposed to be completed in May.

While the company says it will be “business as usual” out of its office in Guelph, the arrangement could see Engage tap into Belchim’s European portfolio for the Canadian market.

“We have a tremendous family at Engage, and are ecstatic to now be partnering with a family-owned company like Belchim who has the same roots and core values as we do,” said Engage president Ray Chyc. “We now especially look forward to continue to work with growers across Canada and suppliers around the globe to bring unique, value-added products to the Canadian market, as we have been doing for the last 20 years.”

Belchim CEO Dirk Putteman noted the deal “is a great opportunity to expand and leverage Belchim’s unique, customer-focused skills and to gain access for our specialty agchem portfolio in the overseas markets.”

Engage employs around 40 people, registering and distributing products from international R&D-based companies across Canada. Much of Engage’s emphasis is on high-value horticulture, vegetable, potato and turf markets, although the company has made a foray into wheat with its chlormequat growth regulator known as Manipulator.

Related: Seller Beware: Avoiding Mistakes That Make a Crop Difficult to Market

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