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Haifa Group and MGS to buy Plant Products

April 29, 2013  By MGS Haifa Chemicals and Plant Products


April 29, 2013, Brampton, Ont. — MGS Horticultural Inc. and Haifa
Chemicals are finalizing plans to purchase Plant Products Co. Ltd.

April 29, 2013, Brampton, Ont. — MGS Horticultural Inc. and Haifa Chemicals are finalizing plans to purchase Plant Products Co. Ltd.

Plant Products is Canada’s largest supplier of fertilizer and pesticides in the specialty horticulture market. The deal is anticipated to close in 60 days.

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MGS Horticultural Inc. is a full-service supplier of fertilizers, pest control products, seeds and substrates in North America.

Haifa Chemicals is a global supplier of potassium nitrate for agriculture and industry, specialty plant nutrients and food phosphates.

“This sale will ensure that the marketplace continues to receive world-class customer service as well as leading edge products,” said Plant Products president Neil Dolson.

MGS will acquire Plant Products’ Canadian distribution business, sales force and name. MGS plans to use both names (MGS Horticultural and Plant Products) in all communications going forward.

MGS will maintain locations in Leamington and Brampton in Ontario; Laval and St. Hyacinthe in Quebec; and Detroit, Mich.

EXCLUSIVE DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT

As part of the deal, MGS has signed multi-year agreements with Haifa to maintain exclusive distribution of Plant-Prod® Soluble Fertilizers, Acer® Controlled Release Fertilizer, Stim-Root® and potting soil premix fertilizers for distribution in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and eastern Canada.

“This acquisition will enhance the ability of MGS to bring new and exciting products to its customer base,” said Chris Stickles, CEO of MGS. “The combined technical expertise will be unmatched in the specialty horticultural industry. We expect our customers, suppliers and industry will benefit from the many synergies which will result from this transaction.”

He added that “MGS is excited to have many talented individuals join our team. Plant Products staff will bring years of knowledge and experience to our growing company. We look forward to maintaining and enhancing relationships with the customers, suppliers and strategic dealers of Plant Products.”

Haifa will acquire Plant Products’ high-performance complementary fertilizers including the Plant-Prod® and Plantex® lines of solubles and the Acer® controlled-release fertilizer line. All the acquired business will be merged into Haifa group as a new company operating under the name of “Master Plant-Prod Inc.”

Haifa will also acquire the blending facility in Brampton.

“For Haifa, this acquisition further enhances our wide specialty plant portfolio and expands our offerings of high-end products,” said Natan Feldman, Haifa’s VP Marketing & Sales. “It will make us into a bigger and stronger company with extensive technical expertise, global infrastructure and financial resources, and will enable us to further expand our investments, R&D and customer support activities in the specialty plant nutrition industry.”

The expansion of its production facilities, he added, “greatly reinforces Haifa’s leading market position and solidifies our North American presence. It puts us at the very top of the global suppliers list. The added capacity from the new plant will not only increase Haifa’s overall production capacity, but will also shorten our distribution cycle in North America and improve the stability of supply, thus enhancing Haifa’s ability to respond to changing market situations.”

ABOUT MGS

MGS Horticultural Inc. has locations in Leamington and Detroit. It is a full-service distributor of fertilizer, pest control products, seeds and substrates servicing the greenhouse, nursery, specialty agriculture and turf industries in Canada and the U.S. MGS is a family-run business that has been in operation since 1941.

ABOUT HAIFA CHEMICALS

Haifa Group is an Israel-based multinational corporation and a global leading supplier of potassium nitrate for agriculture and industry, specialty plant nutrients and food phosphates. It was founded in 1966 by the Israeli government and has been under private ownership since 1989. Haifa’s global operations are in over 100 countries and across five continents, with 12 subsidiaries and three production plants.

ABOUT PLANT PRODUCTS

Plant Products has locations in Brampton, Laval and Saint-Hyacinthe. It has been developing and manufacturing high-quality fertilizers, sold under the Plant-Prod brand globally, since 1945. It is also a leading distributor of fertilizer, pest control products, seeds and substrates servicing the greenhouse, nursery, specialty agriculture and turf industries in Canada.


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