A grochemicals comprise a group of agricultural inputs used for a wide range of operations in the agricultural ecosystem, such as pest control, protection against disease attacks on crops, protection of agricultural produce, enhanced crop yields, improved soil fertility and crop quality, and many more. Owing to favorable domestic policies and infrastructure, the Indian Agrochemicals sector has been experiencing exponential growth over the years, emerging as the second-largest exporter of agrochemicals across the globe. While the Indian Agrochemical industry has been going through various challenges, such as falling global demand, stiff competition from China, lower reservoir levels, and so on, the industry is expected to bounce back by 2024 end.
Started in 1971 by Deepak Shah, SML (formerly known as Sulphur Mills) is a Mumbai-based global leader in agrochemical solutions offering a wide range of innovative and advanced agricultural solutions in the nutrient, soil health, crop protection, and biologicals space. With an employee strength of over 1500, seven manufacturing sites, and over 10000 distributors across India as well as a presence in over
80 countries and over 550 patents globally, the firm puts a lot of focus on R&D while striving to provide cost-effective, superior quality products to its customers.
Coming to the product portfolio, SML offers a wide range of agrochemical products in the fertilizer, insecticide, fungicide, and herbicide categories. A NABL & GLP accredited firm, SML embodies Deepak’s philosophy of gaining more efficacy from less usage. “Around 1987, I came across a product used by farmers in San Jose, where they were using a spray-dried Sulfate product for the plants. The technology was an eye opener, where you can use only 1/3 of Sulfate and it would still generate more Sulfate content for the plants. We realized that if modified using the right technology, it could be a trendsetter product and finally in 1994, we applied for a patent to introduce the product in India”, shares Deepak.
The innovative product Techno Z enables Zinc to get converted slowly over a period of 35 to 40 days, which in turn, allows farmers to get more Zinc content even while using only 1/3 of the Zinc. Apart from that, the firm also uses various technologies to make sure that the product particle surface stays flat, helping it to stay on the leaf surface.
Being a research-oriented company, SML has always put maximum focus on innovation & formulation research that has immensely benefited the industry
What makes SML stand out from the rest is its maximum focus on R&D, innovation, and manufacturing. Being a research-oriented company, SML was the first one ever to set up a NABL-accredited research center in India. The firm has come up with water-dispersible low-granule micro-encapsulated products, where the original content lies at the particle center covered by a protective out layer, making them safe to use while protecting the users from harmful chemicals.
“We have always been known as innovators in the industry and apart from formulations, SML also has been an excellent innovator for new molecules and have a focus on long term sustainability", concludes Deepak.
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