Exacto Inc. Doubling Space to Accommodate Rising Demand for Crop Protection, Pest Management Adjuvant R&D, Manufacturing

Exacto, whose adjuvants and surfactants are sold by other companies under private labels, is doubling its space by the move to a 50,000-square-foot facility in Sharon, Wis., from its original location about 20 miles southeast in Richmond, Ill.

"Exacto continues to be blessed by the confidence and support of our many customers, suppliers and employees, and I am pleased to announce this progressive step for our company," said Diana Braun, Exacto's president.

The company works in the wholesale market, creating and selling adjuvants and surfactants for its customers' private labels. Its customers market into agriculture, forestry, utilities and rights of way, highly managed turf, home and garden, range and pasture and vegetation management. Exacto products improve the action of pesticides and other vegetation-control chemicals, and increase application efficiency.

Exacto's clients have come to rely on Exacto for its niche packaging capabilities, technical and scientific expertise in product development, in-house label design as well as its marketing expertise. The company's product line-up has expanded significantly since its founding in 1981.

Greater Operating Efficiencies

The move to Sharon will add operating efficiencies and enhance the company's already highly successful quality control.

"Our new facility supports our vision of streamlined order processing and logistics," Braun said, noting Exacto's commitment to the principles of lean manufacturing. "The expanded space will allow systematic flow of materials throughout the order cycle, allowing Exacto to remain an industry leader in the areas of quality, flexibility and value to its customers."

The building gives Exacto twice the docking capacity of its former site. In addition, the Sharon facility has railroad service, which opens the door to improved efficiency for the purchase and sale of commodity materials, Braun said.

"Our business approach always has been that we must do everything we can to ensure the success of our customers, because we only succeed when they succeed," said Dave Langemo, marketing and sales development manager for Exacto.

On-site Crop Research

Along with the efficiency gains from the interior layout, the company expects to benefit from the 30+ acres of land around the building. Plans call for adding a greenhouse and for planting crops on some of the acreage. Those enhancements would give Exacto even greater research capabilities, said Frank Sexton, technical services manager for Exacto, which has its own research staff.

"Often with new product developments, we utilize university research stations to determine which formulations and concepts stand out," Sexton said. "Now with this property, we will have an added dimension to that research, being able to evaluate our product ideas and narrow our scope before replicating with university research trials."

Value of Adjuvants More Accepted

Langemo has seen a growing awareness of the benefits of adjuvants for chemicals used in agriculture and vegetation management.

"End users have come to realize the agronomic benefits adjuvants bring to their spray operations," he said. "In our business, performance-enhancing substances are more accepted than ever. We see our customers using value-added adjuvants as a way to distinguish themselves in the market, and we are confident that our new facility will bolster our abilities to make new discoveries that will meet our customers' needs."

Exacto's range of products includes:

--  Deposition and drift control technologies
--  Emulsion technologies and adjuvant components
--  Surfactant and wetting technologies
--  Specialty adjuvants such as water conditioners, buffering agents, and
    stickers
--  Crop oil and seed oils
--  Cleaning compounds and neutralizers
--  Foaming agents
--  Defoamers and antifoams
--  Scents and masking agents
--  Dyes, colorants and pigments
    

Those products are offered in multiple package sizes, ranging from pint or metric equivalent to bulk shipments. Delivering turnkey product is a strong niche for Exacto.

While the majority of its clients are in the U.S., Exacto also serves customers in Canada, Australia, Asia, Europe and Central America.