From humble beginnings back in the early 90s began a business supplying nutritional products for flowers. This year Grochem are celebrating 25 years in business, and for being a business that is growing from strength to strength by producing innovative and sustainable options for growers. We’re proud to say that today Grochem is the only completely Kiwi owned Agribusiness company, with “manufacturing capabilities”, research and development of new products for local and international growers being the core of what we do.

Even though success is not often celebrated here in Aotearoa, the food industry puts NZ on the map, and we here at Grochem are extremely honoured to have reached this milestone and for making our contribution to a thriving industry, with exports now around $3.6 billion annually.

WE’RE PROUD OF HOW FAR WE’VE COME

Success doesn’t just happen overnight, and as the only New Zealand owned and operated manufacturer, importer and developer of agrichemicals, investing a lot into research and development has certainly paid off.

Grochem has a lot to be proud of.

After AgriNova NZ Ltd took over the business assets of Grochem more than 12 years ago, the company has experienced rapid growth, and was delighted to be announced the 2017 Winner in the Deloitte’s Fast 50 Fastest Growing Agribusiness category for Wellington and the Lower North Island.

Some of our memorable achievements over the last 25 years have included:

  • 2003: A world first registration for Ammonium Thiosulphate / Thin-it, for the primary thinning of apples
  • 2006: Under the new HSNO act, Blossom Bless was the first biological to be registered
  • 2010: World first label claim for fruit sizing of apples for Ambitious
  • 2011: Introduced a 5-x concentrated 6Ba in our Bapsol100
  • 2015: First in NZ to register Meteor, the revolutionary secondary thinning chemistry for apples

Grochem’s value in the market has certainly grown significantly since the starting days of 1993, and our products have been a major contributor to the industry’s success.

In New Zealand:

  • Apples: In 1993, there were $380 million of exports coming from 13,000 hectares of land. Twenty-five years later, that figure has increased to $692 million, coming from only 8,800 hectares.
  • Kiwifruit: While the amount of space for growing kiwifruit is the same today as it was in 1993, the fruit did go through the PSA era where the number of hectares did drop. Only through the efforts of plant pathology scientists was kiwifruit able to thrive again, with exports have increasing from $350 million to $1.6 billion.
  • Avocados: There is no export value for avocados back in 1993, but this year the figure is set to be $91 million.

OUR PEOPLE

The core of any successful business is its people, and at Grochem, it’s no different.

Our team is our backbone, and the calm but strong hands of every department including R&D, Product Compliance, Sales, Service, Manufacturing, Freight Logistics and Regulatory are what makes us who we are.

Our Operations Manager has been with us for over 19 years, which truly demonstrates and shows a loyal and dedicated team. His team are responsible for making our products, and along with our batch testers, regulatory affairs, our warehouse team, our finance and our technical team, each person is responsible for bringing something to the table and they each show their passion and commitment to our company and its vision each and every day. Meet our team here.

Grochem also appreciates our expanding network of both national and multi-national partners, whom we work closely with to build a brighter future for the horticulture and wider growing industries.

COMMUNITY INITIATIVES

Grochem’s community initiatives enable us to give back to those communities that help us.

Our wonderful seasonal workers from Vanuatu leave their families and their homes to provide extra labour support for our growers, and in turn we work with the UNICEF WASH project through our Nordox campaign to donate money for clean water and sanitation to 150 schools in the Penama region. The NZ Government has also got behind this initiative, with last year’s total donation amounting to over $100,000. This year we look to be back on track to achieve a similar, if not larger, contribution. Learn more at the Vanuatu WASH project here.

As well as giving back to the people of Vanuatu, Grochem are running a campaign which is raising money for Hospice care in the apple growing communities of Hawkes Bay and Nelson. Through sales of Meteor, we’ll be donating $35 for every 1kg of Meteor sold. Learn more about this project here.

 

SO, WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?

Looking forward, we will continue to work with our amazing global team of suppliers, and in 2019, Grochem growers will continue to be leaders of their industry as we introduce new chemistry innovations and be committed to our product stewardship.

In an ever-changing industry, Grochem will continue to remain agile, with the ability to adopt and adapt as needed. On behalf of all of our team, we would like to thank everyone that we have connected with for their support and industry passion and look forward to another 25 exciting and innovative years.