The company is in the top five premix producers globally but has ambitions to climb up a few rungs on the ladder:
“In Spain and France, we are number one in feed premix and farm management services. Now, we want to apply the same approach we use in those countries to other markets, extending our footprint globally by leveraging our international know how and network.
“We will apply our expertise in nutrition and technical support on farm, along with our market knowledge and analysis, our proficiency in quality control and training and our tailored formulation capacity to the agri-business segment in Africa and Asia and Latin America to ensure animal performance gains for end users,” François Fernandez, director of the Wisium brand, told this publication at the Hannover event.
Neovia (formerly InVivo NSA) said it intends to target integrators, feed mills, home mixers and specialized distributors in those regions with its premix portfolio.
The group officially launched the Wisium brand at EuroTier 2016 earlier this month, but October saw it roll it out in South Africa following the acquisition of local premix firm, Pennville.
The French company also opened a new storage and distribution center near Johannesburg last month, a facility aimed at strengthening its organic growth as well as its export activity in South Africa.
Neovia has been doing business in Africa for over 20 years, directly in South Africa and Algeria, indirectly through partnerships in Nigeria and the Ivory Coast and, through its export business, it said it has access to the agri-business sector in Angola, Mali, Morocco, Cameroon, and Senegal.
Indian partnership
Meanwhile, in May, Neovia signed a deal with Evialis India to provide Unibait Feed with premix and added value services for the production of premium shrimp feed in India.
Neovia species specialists, technologists, formulators’ teams as well as its lab and R&D facilities will be used to support Unibait in the development of its shrimp feed business in India.
This three-year partnership, said the French group, will enable it to enhance his position and visibility in a strategic and high potential market.
Latin American markets
And, in other Neovia business developments, the group announced in September it was looking to enter the north region of Brazil through a potential takeover of local animal nutrition player, Nutrizon.
The proposed acquisition, which it said was still pending prior approval by the competition authorities, is seen as a way of boosting the group’s geographical coverage in Brazil as well as its positioning in the aquaculture, pet food, and ruminant segments there, while bolstering its export activity in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador through strategically located production facilities.
That month also saw Neovia announce the inauguration of an animal nutrition manufacturing plant in Texcoco in Mexico producing feed for pork, poultry, aquaculture, ruminants and horses, and its plans to build a major new facility in the Veracruz state in 2018.
And, last week, Neovia reported it is now a majority shareholder in a company specialising in aquaculture pond water treatment, Acui-T. It said the move underlined its holistic approach to that segment from supplying feed to controlling breeding pond issues.