ICL Group’s Post

Transcript

Good morning. Morning, great to see you. So here we are and we start to start with introduction. So really no, please, it's pleasure. So I'm Illinois and I'm the VP RND for the specialty fertilizers of IL growing solutions. Great to be with you here today. So good to be here. I'm I'm together the VP of Marketing in Portfolio Management for IC growing solutions. And I'm sure metal I'm the VP economy in CL and we talked before what would we like to share with the audience? And I start with the the economic agenda. Please tell us what are what are the major trends in in agriculture? So basically, this economic agenda is based on these trends. And we start with the soil health soil and is a major trend in agriculture now. And of course, we should find the the answers and the way to to join. This to end nutrient is efficiency of course, it's the second one is the big one. It's the second big one that we recognize. Third one of course relates to environment, environment, minimal environmental footprint. And third one, since we are a plant nutrition company, we are focusing on abiotic stress. So I suggest that based on this trend, Amir, maybe you'll take it and describe how would we like to answer these questions with products and services at the end. These trends are, you know, here at the top are really critical for for our business and the you know, you are marketing guys. We we always think how can we make these products? How can we make money actually from from it and to give a hand to make. Das ist also so das Basketball. You don't wanna do. There's always and also making a good story out of it. We see these strength coming stronger and stronger. It started in Europe and then the US moving up to the to Brazil and then China and and it will come all over the place. And at the end we think that in CL we are set to bring very good answers and products to to the in services to these to these trends. We have you know controlled release fertilizers, we have water soluble fertilizer for fertigation, We have polyhalite, so the unique mineral that only us bringing us balanced nutrition. So all of these products are bringing answers exactly to these trends and and we see the development and the growth in the market. For this product and and also the new line that we are developing the buyers which have woohoo heavy, heavy R&D part in it. So how do you see these developments of new products and also the processes, You know, so I fully agree with the trends that you mentioned and the way we we approached them from marketing point of view. And I think that the beauty is that the three teams are working together to 1st identify the trends looking on that. Roman God point of view and then you on the other side, as you said, pushing us to to make those products available as soon as possible to the market and economic And thank you for reminding me and exactly that the prices of course will be competitive. But I think that it's an awesome area. And you can also see the excitement of all of us because as you said, looking for example of on nutrient use efficiency on the anyway, as you said, we are the first one to have the biodegradable coating. And we are not only that we launched the first generation, now we're working on the second and third generation. So I think that's the future is brighter and we'll have a very nice product in the future that will also be cheaper. So you'll be very happy about it. These these kinds of of products, you know, from one side it answered the trend of no 20s efficiency and emission reduction. From the other side, it's great story of biodegrade, but also soil health is related to those so less plastic polymers. So this is, I would say the the great stone for marketing. Team that you have unique product is better for the environment is better performance, so you know well done. Great job, you know, I would like to take the discussion to you know, to the processes how you know we find the right needs ideation. They are and of course, and then the launching it to the market and I start with the the economy war here and there. You know actually I'm feeling very privileged because you know we have the the best the best wall here, you know to raise the flag of the needs yes. So just to describe it to the audience I CL has more than. 500 economists out there, these are our boots on the grounds that actually can find us the right needs that they will focus us to the right products and the the right development. And then we of course introduced this needs to die and this. So maybe you know we will take it from here and describe how how we continue to develop it. So thanks Shai think I fully agree what you said looking basically on the unmet needs. And the link that was the basic for the ideation. So in R&D, we felt that the people didn't really understand what are the problems of the farmer. So that was the basic and the foundation. It was very important for us that our people will understand what are those needs. So thank you very much for your team Shy that created a very comprehensive list of those needs, then we categorize them and then we created basically an ideation process. So this is a structured process to ideate internally and that's on top of what you all know that. Also do externally of course to to leverage the technologies that we don't have internally basically. And I think that is very important in the ideation that you have kind of a versatile team. Yeah, it's a growing, it's R&D, it's commercial team, it's sales people that you know ideas will come and each one has its own role of course in in this kind of discussion. But at the end, you know, R&D will not develop a product that then it comes to marketing and they will say, you know, we're not interested. Not interested or it's too hard. Exactly. So expensive. So that was that was very good. And I think that this specific workshop, it was good as you said, because the agronomic people could basically explain to us, I mean, does it make sense? Is this molecule interesting enough? How does it work in the plant? So we could also look on the scientifical point of view, both on the grammatical point of view in the point of view and as you said, the economical in the marketing point of view. You know, I will touch, you know, our parts along the RND. Process which are the validation tests. So I will not deep dive you know into the exact models, but you know in a glance we are doing a few levels of validation test that enable us first of all to decide if you want to continue with the development process and at the end to you know to certificate, let's call it like this the synthetic certificate the product from the economic perspective before it it is launched to. Committed to the market and they suggested to me I will take it forward from there. In parallel, even very early stage we look at kind of early business case to see that at the end even if if we have a direction that it will work and that it would be economic and what will be the needed cost of of the production of this of this product. So we are every time that we have new, new information, we are verifying this business case. We need to to have also a good story, a good performance. So what at the end we are from one side are the, let's call it the customer of these developments of agronomy and R&D. But from the other side, we are together with you along the, the process of both the ideas and then moving the to the economical stage till a launch of of a product which at the end is a very significant part of our job. So that we we understand that the performance is excellent. And then we need to learn, So what would be the story, what will be the messages, the training to the sales team, what will be the pricing, the positioning and in which market We start first, which is a very, very important because you can introduce a product only once. Yes, in the last few months we introduced a new product. So maybe you will present these new products and they think that it's will close the loop of everything that we talked about here. Yeah, so we already discussed that equates the new biodegradable. Controlled release fertilizers that exciting and fascinating. The the best one in the market, the best. And now moving to, to the next trends. We are, we are speaking about a lot about recycled recycling of nutrients, recycling of waste streams. So we just launches 3 months ago the pure loop, which is a recycled phosphate product. It's amazing story. Yeah, you, you take waste streams of, of, of Switzerland ash then from the Netherland, very close to our plants in, in the Netherlands. And actually you take real waste into a product which is performing amazingly even better or at least the same as regular fertilizer, just like a normal fertilizer. Yeah, no, no one really understand. But from a problem of waste of mountain of, of suits like ash in, in all Europe, actually in the Netherland, in Germany, in Switzerland, etcetera, we are making a product that goes back to the plant and contributing. To to the soil, into the plant, into the growth and, and reviving this economic cycle again and again and closing the loop. So it's it's a it's amazing product amazing so many sources out there you know so this is the first move here you know I think you're working right yes yes a lot of efforts in ICU are invested, but can I say very talented they're indeed yes yeah and actually we launched the first one but it will be a full line of products yes so and, and moving from from the. This area to the abiotic stress trend that you mentioned Sharia, there is a very big project, we call it bias, but at the end bias it's many product, many solutions, many problems or solutions solver of different unmet needs which we already have. Yeah, yeah. So so you know, I think that it will be right that you will take it to the form from team of of these bars lined, you know the biologicals. So maybe you yeah. So tell us about it. Yeah, sure. And start them definitely feel free to add, uh, basically what we learn, I mean, as one of the trends, as you said that we have all kinds of abiotic stress, I mean, going all around the world looking on droughts and heat stress and radiation, etcetera, etcetera. So obviously that the biological product and the BIOS line that we launched already. Is aimed to solve those problems and it's so diverse and we have so many projects and ideas that we will mature in the upcoming years. We have the first one that we're already launched. You want to talk about the one that we're launched, We, I still made very significant moves both with M&A's in Brazil. We acquired three companies which are very active in this field. We made cooperation with startups that they are the RND led with Levi Bayo and Agreement and and Plantar. Dial so very large projects on on these developments and So what is the next thing so you need other additives or activities that will support these nutrients and then the buyers and the and the microbial buyers are coming and we we really see this as a hot trend and we are coming with products all all over the globe of different solutions in the BIOS area. OK and you know maybe you will describe you know an hour and. That is running now that we already published. So maybe tell us about one project, just the audience will get, you know, an idea about what we're working on. Yeah. So first of all, maybe before giving an example, I would just say that on a high level we're developing different kinds of microbial product, which are basically the first generation, but we all also developing and initiating some activities related to 2nd and 3rd generation, which are much more specific and accurate in their function. Broken as we, we talked earlier about the abiotic stress for example, so it could be metabolite and it could be an additional molecules that will have a a very specific and positive effect of the plan. On a more specific tone, basically we can give an example of La Vie Bio as you know. So your teams are also involved with this fascinating project. And then basically there we are developing a specific bacterial product which will have a positive effect on a specific crop in a specific territory. So I think a difference between what you mentioned earlier about the nutrients which are much more robust and deliver solutions for planning. Division in Bastimentos, we understand we have to be much more specific and develop by a stimulant to specific crop and specific territories because as a shy taught us and I'm gonna meet team taught us, basically there's a lot of differences between the soils and the the husk, the the environment condition that could affect basically the the function of this specific molecules. So this kind of specificities is actually changing the way we work because you need to be very specific in the in the. Country and soil and crop, this is the the way forward for ISIL to be very specific, very crop oriented and bring more and more solutions for for the farmers and the end users. And there is a fully bright future for Cle growing solutions in this area. So absolutely I'm here and I think that this specific solution that we're developing is directly linked to what you mentioned earlier, shy about precision agriculture. And I think that that's the future. Fully agree with you said, yes, the future is bright and thank you very much. It was fun. Thank you very much. It was great having this discussion with you today. Thank you. Thanks. Thanks.