COMPO

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COMPO		2007	2006
Revenues	€ million	617.4	552.4
EBIT I	€ million	32.0	29.2
Capital expenditure	€ million	12.6	11.4
Employees as of 31.12.	number	1,252	1,260

In the consumer area, the COMPO business segment offers its customers a wide variety of high-quality potting soils, speciality fertilizers and plant protection products. Measured in terms of revenues, with its consumer products COMPO is the leading provider in continental Europe, holding a share of 20 %. In the four segments potting soil, plant care, lawn fertilizers and garden fertilizers, we are well ahead of all our competitors. In the plant protection segment, COMPO is advancing its further growth, for example through the cooperation with Syngenta. In the professional area too – i. e. agricultural and horticultural applications – the  COMPO business segment is the innovative and driving force in Europe and occupies a leading position in the area of nitrogen-based speciality fertilizers.

Cornerstones of sustainable growth
We strive to further expand the market leadership that we have achieved in Europe in subsegments with high-end quality products and strong brands. In addition to the development of new products this also involves the needs-based further development of the existing assortment and the continuous exchange of knowledge between the professional and the consumer areas. Today already our product portfolio is tailored to the needs of different countries, cultures and climatic zones on five continents. By entering further attractive markets in Latin America and Eastern Europe, we want to boost the internationalization of our business.  

Strong brands for home and garden
In the consumer area, the brand portfolio includes the major brands COMPO and ALGOFLASH®, which are complemented by the brands SEM®, GESAL® and GARDIFLOR® in selected countries. Potting soil is the most important product in the range. In Europe, the high-quality soils are predominantly sold under the COMPO SANA® and ALGOFLASH® brands. The high-grade substrata offer a particularly plant-friendly base which, depending on the type of plant, is processed with quartz sand, humus, clay minerals as well as slow-release fertilizers and all the important main and micronutrients for plants. COMPO SANA® water retaining soil with Aqua Depot® guarantees that the plants will be supplied with water for far longer. In the fertilizer assortment, our COMPO® and ALGOFLASH® liquid as well as lawn and garden fertilizers are the focus of our marketing. 

Successful expansion of the plant protection business
In the framework of our exclusive cooperation with the Swiss Syngenta, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of plant protection agents, COMPO added further innovative products to its European consumer range in 2007. With our specific know-how, we are further developing active substances from Syngenta in our own laboratories in order  o create products ready for marketing in the consumer area. And we are successful: in leading German garden centres, Axoris™ was already by far the best-selling insecticide stick for home and garden in 2007, the year it was launched. Moreover, in 2007, we became the exclusive co-distributor of LacBalsam®, the leading tree care and wound seal product, and acquired brands and products from Spiess-Urania, thus further completing our plant protection assortment for home and garden. These include the established herbicide VOROX®, which has been successfully marketed in Germany for five decades. From the perspective of COMPO, the combination of already familiar brands on the one ha d and innovative products and active substances on the other, is the most sustainable route to the successful expansion of the plant protection segment. 

Professional segment scores with nitrogen efficiency
For the large number of agricultural and horticultural application areas, the COMPO professional segment offers customers the broadest product range compared with the competition. The nitrogen-stabilised ENTEC® fertilizers have achieved broad acceptance and been sold in large quantities in only seven years on the market. They are characterised by a unique nitrogen efficiency and thus reduce the number of fertilizer administrations necessary in comparison with traditional products. Further important products are the potassium sulphate complex fertilizers marketed under the brand NITROPHOSKA® for the cultivation of fruit, grapes and vegetables as well as the slow-release fertilizer FLORANID® for intensively used grass surfaces for sport such as golf courses and football pitches. The fully-coated slow-release fertilizer BASACOTE® is particularly designed for the nursery and ornamental plant sectors and guarantees a consistent supply of nutrients to plants over three to twelve months. In the fertigation segment,  apidly growing especially in Southern Europe, we are well positioned with our HAKAPHOS® and ENTEC® SOLUB products. High-quality foliar and micronutrient fertilizers, for example FETRILON®, complete the assortment for horticulture and agriculture.  

  

 

Strategy COMPO

• Development of market leadership position in Europe using high quality prod-ucts and strong brands
• Further development with innovative products
• Growth through acquisitions and cooperation arrangements
  - additional geographical markets
  - larger, market-oriented product portfolio

Visit the Homepage of COMPO GmbH: http://www.compo.com