Miller has been developing and distributing agrichemicals for 65 years from the east coast of the US, initially making fertilisers for the local fruit and vegetable sector. The company began exporting to Europe and the Middle East as the demand for its products grew.
“The difference between Miller and other fertiliser companies is our production strategy,” says Dominic Scicchitano, business manager for Europe and the Middle East.
He joined the company in 2002 to increase Miller products’ awareness in Europe and promote new developments. “We have taken the route of producing high-quality niche foliar fertilisers. We target the fruit and vegetable sector, particularly produce grown in greenhouses, table grapes, cherries, kiwifruit and flowers. Our marketing strategy is to focus on niche market crops and promote our strong brand names,” says Scicchitano.
Because of the production process used, Miller makes products that have very low impurity levels, explains Scicchitano, allowing them to be applied on many sensitive crops: “Unlike other competitive products, which often burn crop foliage. Nutri-Leaf is our strongest and best known brand,” he adds.
In July 2003, trials were conducted in Spain with the new product, Sugar Express, on five acres of table grape production in greenhouses. Scicchitano says when comparing the treated grapes to untreated grapes, the Sugar Express increased the brix levels by an average of 1.5 degrees. He explains: “Sugar Express enhances the development of berry ripening. When applied seven-14 days before the expected harvest date, the grapes reach a higher brix. This allows the grower to pick them and move the grapes to market earlier.”
Sugar Express has been trialed in Spain, Italy and Greece for the table grape market in 2004 and is now in commercial use in Spain and Italy, with positive results says Scicchitano. “In 2003, 500kg of Sugar Express was used in Spain, this season 1,800kg has been used. And we start trials in France in 2005.”
Initial product development is conducted in the US and then trialled regionally for suitability. Miller aims to produce environmentally-friendly products that use natural-based substance alternatives to synthetically produced agrichemicals. Miller works with growers to develop, trial and brand products and if successful, product commercialisation then becomes the responsibility of its European partners.
Miller products are distributed throughout Europe through two importing agents based in Geneva, Switzerland - Lances Link covering Greece, Turkey, UK, Eastern Europe, Germany and Middle East, and Intrachem Bio International, servicing Spain, France, Portugal, and Italy and Switzerland. There are over 100 Miller brand names in use in Europe and the Middle East.
Scicchitano says: “There is another product in the pipeline for table grapes which has been in trials in 2003-04 in the US, South Africa and South America. The results have been excellent, allowing grapes to be harvested earlier, with uniform colour and allowing more quantities to be harvested in one go. This product will tackle the problem of uniformity during ripening because it is a natural-based precursor for ripening. Trials will start in 2005 in Spain, Greece and Italy.”
A third product under development for application in the grape sector is targeting uniform bud burst on grapes. “The commercial product currently available for this use has a high hazard rating,” he says. “This trial product is again naturally based and has produced comparable results to existing products when applied to the grapes, without the harmful effects. European commercial-scale trials have been conducted this year but we also need to test the product under difficult climatic conditions.”
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