JUNE 2019 SEEDWORLD.COM / 75 PARTNER CONTENT Clariant and Standard Colors Agro Group Partner for Success Clariant and Standard Colors Agro have once again united to deliver Clariant’s Agrocer® portfolio. Standard Colors Agro Group will lend their technical expertise and gold standard application support to service Clariant’s biggest to smallest customers across the North America region. I n 2017, when Clariant and Standard Colors joined forces to better serve the agriculture seed treatment market, world- class product met renowned customer service in a model that both companies had already successfully implemented in other sectors of their businesses. “The partnership approach wasn’t new for either Standard Colors or Clariant,” says Jack Humble, chief executive officer of Standard Colors, “Everything that we are doing is based on previ- ously successful business models between the two companies, the only difference is that the focus now is on seed coloration.” With over 100 years invested in the formulation of color solu- tions, Clariant knows what it takes to make a quality product with universal acceptability. And, with a globally consistent portfolio of manufactured products positioned to elevate seed treatment technology, performance and color spectrum choice, Clariant developed the Agrocer brand to deliver a high-quality seed treat- ment color solution for the North American Market. To further improve the product and experience the Agro- cer brand delivers to North American customers, Clariant has partnered with Standard Colors Agro Group to offer unsurpassed customer service and expertise. Mark Self, market segment manager for special applications at Clariant, says that the partnership has allowed the Agrocer brand to offer a level of both product quality and customer service un- matched in the U.S. market, “Clariant offers some of the best and most consistent products in the world, and through our partner- ship with Standard Colors, we are now also able to offer renown customer service and distribution.” Longtime and well-known agricultural innovators, the Stand- ard Colors Agro Group team of Kevin Brost and John Kibbee bring leadership in customer service and product development to the partnership between the companies, providing immediate tech- nical and application assistance to Agrocer customers of all sizes. “The business of seed treatment is a multifaceted one and it varies by crop and geography,” says Brost, Standard Colors Agro Group vice president of business development, sales and market- ing, “and those two things call for multi-level sales and service, along with attention to new product needs, to reach customers of all sizes,” he says. As the vice president of technology for Standard Colors Agro Group, Kibbee works to continually improve and expand the Agrocer portfolio of products to meet market demands. He agrees with Brost, noting that the success of the Clariant-Standard Colors partnership is evident not only in the flexibility and on- site customer service the venture provides, but in the speed in which the group can meet a customer’s needs. “Customers have already reaped the benefits of this partner- ship,” said Kibbee. “We have been able to provide new packaging and, drawing on extensive formulation experience, new product formulations in three weeks or less. That just cannot happen in big companies; large companies cannot be as nimble and flexible as this partnership allows Clariant and Standard Colors to be.”