BRANDT Overview
BRANDT is proud to be known as one of the fastest-growing, family-owned companies in the United States. Since 1953, the Brandt family and their employees have remained true to a philosophy planted deep in the company’s midwestern roots and forged by an American spirit that focuses on a commitment to quality people and quality products.
Whether you grow soybeans or sugar cane, corn or cotton, or pomegranates and pineapple, BRANDT is focused on helping you take control of your bottom line. With more than 250 products, BRANDT is preferred by farmers who grow everything from row crops to fruit to vegetables to turf and ornamentals. BRANDT products are sold in 48 U.S. states and more than 45 countries.
BRANDT offers the products, knowledge and customer service to help make its business partners at home and around the world successful. By taking care of its customers, near and far, BRANDT helps families, farms and communities ensure a safe, secure supply of fiber, fuel and food.
From small-town beginnings to worldwide markets
For more than 70 years, BRANDT has been helping growers become more profitable. The company’s straightforward approach to doing business worked in 1953 when Glen Brandt and his sister, Evelyn Brandt Thomas, founded the company, and it works today. Their belief in innovation, honesty and first-class customer service was a help to local farmers, many of whom were their neighbors, in their hometown of Pleasant Plains, Illinois. That same philosophy, first learned on the family farm, continues today in a thriving business that helps bring success to farmers around the world.
For BRANDT, it all starts with family — first it was a brother and sister — and it’s still that way today as Glen’s son, Rick, leads the company and its 400+ employees in bringing the latest advances in technology and proprietary products to markets across the globe.
A corporate strategy to embrace growth
The BRANDT strategy is an entrepreneurial, long-term approach that begins with the human element by finding, hiring and retaining the best intellectual talent — simply put, good people make good companies. Continuing to provide superior products to a domestic and worldwide customer base is an integral part of the strategic plan. Aggressive expansion of the business through acquisitions and the development of new products remain vital to the long-term strategy for growth and profitability.
Serving global customers through international expansion has become increasingly important for BRANDT. BRANDT’s first international business was a joint venture with Fertinyect, S.A. headquartered in Cordoba, Spain, in 2014 for tree injection products. In 2015, BRANDT purchased Target Brasil Fertilizantes Ltda in Brazil, providing the company with its first off-shore manufacturing and a domestic sales force in Brazil. And in 2016, BRANDT made its most significant international acquisition, purchasing the assets of Tratamientos Guadalquivir S.A. (TRAGUSA) in Carmona, Spain.
The BRANDT Europe acquisition gave BRANDT manufacturing capacity in Europe, plus access to new markets and new products. Founded in 1988, BRANDT Europe manufactures products for agriculture, greenhouse and lawn & garden growers. With a particular strength in crop protection products, the company manufactures and distributes a wide range of chemistries for crop protection, plant nutrition and pest control. BRANDT Europe products are distributed primarily in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Technology and innovation drive modern agriculture
BRANDT has always been on the cutting edge of technology and innovation, a tradition that puts the company at the crossroads where high-tech and science meet modern agriculture. Farming now relies on data made up of genetics, chemistry, GPS systems, crop and soil analysis and much more.
With a team dedicated to discovery and innovation, adopting new technologies is familiar ground at BRANDT. With years of trial data, partnerships with leading universities and over 135 hectares of research and development farms, BRANDT works hard to create the knowledge that will distinguish its growers and give them the tools to control their business. BRANDT helps its local growers implement custom approaches to crop management and provides cutting-edge products to world-wide customers all with the goal of increasing yield and maximizing productivity.
The BRANDT Advantage: Five complementary businesses, designed to help the customer grow
Over the years, BRANDT has evolved its business structure to focus on the holistic needs of the grower community. From commodities to specialty products to trusted advice, BRANDT harnesses five complementary businesses to help growers around the globe succeed.
Specialty Formulations
BRANDT Specialty Formulations is a manufacturer and leading supplier of specialty inputs for the agriculture, turf, ornamental and lawn and garden markets. It boasts one of the largest portfolios of micronutrients and OMRI Listed products available today, and its products are used on some of the most notable farms, vineyards, golf courses and sports arenas in the world.
BRANDT products are proudly distributed in 48 states and over 45 countries.
Specialty Formulations is at the forefront of new product development and technologies, which are the lifeblood of BRANDT. Our purpose is to help plants achieve their full genetic potential and to develop new technologies that enhance the sustainability of global agriculture. With the growing demand for organic and sustainable products, BRANDT is well positioned to be a leading manufacturer and supplier, investing in ongoing research and facilities dedicated to producing organic certified products.
BRANDT Dealer Support
BRANDT’s Dealer Support business supplies and markets plant nutrients and other fertilizer commodities through a range of distribution centers. Customers include retail dealers, industrial plants and other distributors.
BRANDT Agronomic Services
From years of experience, partnership with academic researchers and more than 10 years of proprietary insights from its own research farms, BRANDT’s retail business is designed to help professional farmers be more profitable by using the latest technologies and implementing the latest innovations in agriculture.
BRANDT owns and operates 18 full service agriculture retail locations and 10 satellite facilities in central Illinois and Iowa that provide advice, products and services to farmers working more than one million acres of Central Illinois farmland. Many of these outlets provide custom crop nutrient formulating and application services on site.
It always comes back to profitability: In addition to supplying products to growers, BRANDT Certified Crop Advisors provide professional guidance and crop-input recommendations to help ensure our growers’ success. Grower effectiveness is also enhanced by BRANDT’s customized computer and GPS systems that are designed to track the most essential data: results versus inputs.
BRANDT International
BRANDT works with the world’s leading ag and turf distributors to represent our products and provide local-market sales support. BRANDT products for international distribution are manufactured in the USA, Brazil, and Spain to manage delivery windows and logistical costs.
BRANDT Discovery & Innovation
BRANDT brings new product technologies to our customers that improve plant health, and in turn, help them get better overall results. We develop and create our own proprietary BRANDT products. INNOVATION is the lifeblood of our division.
