Read the Report - FMC Corporation

Product Innovations: From Concept to Market
While increasing the share of R&D investments
focused on the five market-shaping shifts, we have
also adjusted our process to bring new products
from concept to reality. By innovating based on the
cited market shifts, we can identify more unique
solutions that are highly valued by our customers.
These criteria spur new ideas and allow clear,
consistent evaluation of product potential. Most
importantly, they enable richer conversations with
our customers during the product development
phase, as many are attempting to create offerings
that answer these same market trends.
Such sustainability-driven process improvements
enable us to identify and advance projects that
create a sustainability advantage more quickly,
while imposing a higher burden of proof on
projects that are counter to our sustainability
objectives. We are excited about the resulting
opportunities for growth and the social impact we
can effect with this focused approach. This effort
will help to ensure a robust development pipeline
to support the continued growth of FMC in the
years beyond our Vision 2015 strategic plan.
Our Agricultural business is introducing several
new biopesticides. These materials are derived
from plant and/or microbial resources that are
renewable and in some cases offer farmers a lower
toxicity alternative. We recently introduced Nemix
C, a bacterial inoculant that enhances plant growth
and yield, and Fracture, which will be introduced
in North America in 2013 to control fungal diseases
in grapes. These new products supplement our
existing Regalia Max® fungicide, which is derived
from the extract of giant rootknot.
Environmental
Consciousness
16
Climate
Change
FOCUSED FORWARD
Scarce
Resources
Current Mkt Std New FMC Product
Illustrative example of assessment chart from FMC
new product development process.
Focus on Environmental Solutions
Over the years, FMC has developed several
innovative technologies to directly address the
environmental and remediation challenges
faced by our customers. In 2012, we recognized
an opportunity to combine these products into
a single platform that provides environmental
solutions. We started building a comprehensive
portfolio of solutions for improving air and water
quality and restoring land to productive use.
A good example of how this organizational
change and market focus can increase FMC’s
impact starts with our proven Klozur® persulfate
products, mentioned in last year’s report. Since
its launch in 2005, Klozur has helped customers to
cost-effectively remediate more than 1,000 sites
globally. Klozur reacts to destroy a wide range of
organic contaminants in the subsurface, leaving
behind environmentally benign byproducts that
support further natural biodegradation. This in
situ process often replaces the less desirable
“dig-and-haul” process that relocates contami-
nated soil and can increase the potential for
human exposure.
Klozur persulfate is an effective solution for many
soil and groundwater concerns; however, with a
business unit devoted to environmental solutions,
we can quickly expand and build on its capabilities.
We have already expanded our portfolio of soil
and groundwater solutions with the acquisition of
Adventus Intellectual Property, Inc. The Adventus
line of products complements Klozur and enables
FMC to effectively address a wider range of
contaminants (such as heavy metals) and site
conditions (such as large plumes of contaminated
groundwater).
A global need exists for these types of
technologies. To support growth outside of
North America, in 2012 FMC formed a joint
venture with two companies in China. Combining
BCEG Environmental Remediation Co., Ltd.’s
(BCEER) leading position in China’s remediation
market with BRISEA Group, Inc.’s capabilities for
environmental technology transfer, FMC is poised
to introduce a number of cost-effective soil and
groundwater solutions to meet the needs of the
Chinese market.
FMC also began to build robust offerings in two
other target areas: air and water.