4 GERMINATION.CA NOVEMBER 2018 STRIKING A PARTNERSHIP deal with another company — and making it last — can be difficult if divergent business cultures collide and there isn’t close alignment on corporate practices, goals and vision. La Coop fédérée and Maizex Seeds, two major players in the Canadian seed industry, know this very well. The two businesses recently entered into a joint venture partnership, and for them, the question of whether it was the ‘right fit’ was an easy one to answer. “To be honest, it’s been an easy transi- tion because we are ultimately on the same page,” says Dave Baute, president and CEO of Maizex Seeds. “We both sin- cerely have the best interest of our farmer customers in mind. If they make money and are successful then so are we, and it’s a very simple equation.” Maizex Seeds is a corn and soybean seed company located in Tilbury, Ont., while Montreal-based La Coop fédérée, which produces and markets seed for soybeans, corn, cereals and forages under the Elite brand, is one of the nation’s larg- est agri-food companies with numerous operations across Canada. The new partnership will enable La Coop fédérée and Maizex Seeds to build a broader national presence and generate new efficiencies aimed at providing new and better seed offerings to Canadian farmers. The companies are also working on a comprehensive market strategy to provide full product access and support to growers around the country. One of the first pri- orities is moving all of the corn offerings under the Maizex brand, while all soybean offerings will be sold under the Elite brand. Casper Kaastra, crop production general manager for La Coop fédérée, was one of the key architects of the deal. “The timing was right for both organizations,” he says. “We both had the same objective of an expanded presence to build up our business from a solid foundation, but in order to be a long-term player in the Canadian seed indus- try, particularly with corn and soybeans, we both realized that we needed to take the business to another level.” Baute agrees: “La Coop fédérée is the ideal partner for Maizex, not only given their ownership and shared values, but also their shared vision to invest in the scale and scope of [the] seed business needed to service Canadian farmers.” Both companies are farmer-owned, are consensus- builders, and share a strong commitment to the Canadian seed market, Baute says, and have other shared values that include honesty, respect and integrity. MAKINGABUSINESSMARRIAGEWORK La Coop fédérée and Maizex Seeds, fresh off of entering into a joint venture agreement, know what it takes to build and maintain a strong business partnership. Mark Halsall Seed production at Maizex Seeds. Dave Baute, president and CEO of Maizex Seeds.