 Thu, Aug 28, 2008 07:46 PM
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2008-06-20  Business | EcoSMART fights bugs with help from plants
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| | by Bob Pepalis | |  |
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| (SPECIAL/www.northfulton.com)Using botanical oils as the active ingredient makes EcoSmart’s entire product line of insecticides non-toxic, making them safe for businesses, barns and even homes. (click for larger version) |
June 26, 2008 | 11:59 AM
www.gwinnettherald.com
ALPHARETTA – An Alpharetta company fights insects not with chemicals, but with botanical oils that are non-toxic so that the FDA doesn't require the big skull and crossbones poison warning on most insecticide containers.
David Murphy, vice president of marketing for EcoSMART, said about 25 employees work directly for the company, with 15 in Alpharetta. The remainder are field people, all working domestically.
EcoSMART has been around since 1992, with its product line introduced in the late 90s.
The company was "one of the first to go over the green wall before green was cool," Murphy said.
EcoSMART weathered the first difficult years until the green trend came its way. It recently raised $5 million in capital from its investors to commercialize its product offerings.
Orkin, another local company that's headquarted just a few miles away in Roswell, is EcoSMART's biggest customer. Large players in the animal health care market, who also are concerned with hazardous materials around their animals, also use the product.
Walco, the largest animal health distributor, jumped on the green insecticide band wagon, taking on the product line. The major West Coast agricultural supply firms are big distributors, as are grocers out West, especially in California.
Most of the concentration is out west where the green trend is more entrenched, Murphy said. Albertson's, Ralph's and Stader Brothers grocers stock EcoSMART product.
The professional and commercial division sell to industrial firms, with Granger, a well known distributor, selling its products.
"We're just now starting to hit our stride. We've got some strategic customers and partners out there," Murphy said.
The consumer has a good chance of finding EcoSMART products. Wal-Mart came to EcoSMART asking it to introduce a green line of insecticides for the retail market.
"Since then it's really started to snowball with other retailers," he said.
"It's been a interesting last couple of years. Momentum has really picked up in 20008, which is pretty exciting for us," Murphy said.
"We've got a lot of trends that are working toward our advantage," Murphy said.
Regulatory trends have the FDA removing many conventional insecticides from the market, leaving customers looking for viable alternatives. The emerging need for green organic products bodes well for the company.
"From a consumer standpoint, it's all about awareness. When people find out about us, they are very intrigued to give us a try," he said.
EcoSMART's founder, Steve Bessette, was trained and worked as a lawyer and an accountant. But when his wife was pregnant with their twins, the couple was concerned with having a safe environment to raise children. His belief that insecticides should be non-toxic to people pushed him to start the firm.
Bessette has filed a lot of patents, with 39 issued and another 40 on file. Those intellectual patents help keep the competition at bay, prohibiting a lot of companies from entering the same market.
Murphy confirmed a VentureBeat report that said the $5 million funding was provided by previous investors DFJ Element, Draper Associates, Rockport Capital, Industrial Technology Ventures, Early Stage Partners and Delta Venture Partners. EcoSMART took $9 million in its last round and $6 million in 2004, for a total to date of $20 million.
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