Inverness Graham has acquired Custom Agronomics, a private label manufacturer of specialty agricultural products.
Custom Agronomics is a provider of formulation, manufacturing, packaging and labeling services for private-label liquid plant nutrition products that are used to enhance yields and improve growth in the professional turf management, agriculture, lawn, and garden markets.
The company’s products include liquid and specialty fertilizers, nitrogen stabilizers, surfactants (surface active agents that improve the spreading and wetting properties of liquids), adjuvants (substances that improve herbicidal effectiveness), soil amendments (materials that improve a soil’s physical properties such as water retention, permeability, and drainage).
“Custom Agronomics develops products that offer key environmental benefits, including targeted and plant-specific, nutritional and fertilizer-use efficiency products that produce greater agricultural and plant yields,” said Paul Nolen, a managing principal at Inverness Graham. “A good example is the company’s line of nitrogen stabilizer products that directly reduce the need for fertilizer applied. As a result, less nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas, is created in the farming process.”
Custom Agronomics’ products are distributed throughout North America, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia. The company was co-founded by Michael Williams and Brian Scott and is headquartered in Palm City, Florida.
“We are proud that Custom Agronomics has become a leader in its field and a trusted partner to its growing base of customers in serving their specific needs,” said the two founders in a released statement. “We look forward to collaborating with the team at Inverness Graham to further expand our offerings and capabilities for both existing and new customers as we pursue the next chapter at Custom Agronomics.”
“We are pleased to partner with Custom Agronomics, a leader in the specialty agricultural and turf & ornamentals markets,” added Mr. Nolen. “The company has excelled at delivering innovative customized and private-label solutions to leading regional and national distributors and is poised for even stronger growth ahead.”
Inverness Graham invests in tech-enabled manufacturing, service, and software companies. The firm was founded by senior executives of the Graham Group, a family-owned multi-national industrial and investment company with interests in plastics, packaging, recycling, building products, and outsourced manufacturing. Inverness Graham is based near Philadelphia in Wayne, Pennsylvania.
The acquisition of Custom Agronomics is the fifth platform investment for Inverness Graham’s fourth fund, Inverness Graham Investments IV LP, which closed in July 2019 with $415 million of capital.
Inverness Graham and Custom Agronomics are actively seeking add-on acquisitions of companies that operate in the specialty agriculture and turf markets.
© 2022 Private Equity Professional | October 7, 2022
