APRIL 19, 2006 — Philadelphia, PA.
— Rohm and Haas Company (NYSE:ROH) announced today the purchase of Floralife®, Inc., a top global provider of post-harvest care products for the floral industry based in South Carolina. The
acquisition by Rohm and Haas will expand the quality management
system portfolio of its AgroFresh business to include post-harvest
flowers on a global basis.
AgroFresh, Inc. produces and markets the SmartFreshSM Quality
System, a breakthrough technology that safely protects apples and
other crops against the over-ripening effects of ethylene during
storage and shipment, preserving the just-picked freshness, flavor
and texture of fruits and vegetables. Floralife is best known for the small flower food packets that accompany roses or fresh cut bouquets purchased from retailers or neighborhood florists. The
freshness technology for flowers was developed by Floralife for
ornamental usage.
“Floralife fits well into our growth strategy as we continue to focus on broadening the technical services and freshness technologies provided to our customers," said John Buckley, president of AgroFresh. "The
acquisition of Floralife will help us expand our portfolio of quality management
systems beyond fresh fruits and vegetables to include fresh-cut flowers."
Buckley continued, "AgroFresh and Floralife bring complementary, best-in-class business practices and proprietary technologies that will add value across the supply chain. We
expect that in the future AgroFresh can leverage its resources, knowledge base,
and research practices beyond fresh produce to further develop products with
greater impact for the floral industry.”
“AgroFresh had an existing relationship with Floralife, which related to its EthylBloc™ product, so acquiring the business made perfect sense to support our business strategies,” said Erin Doherty, Floralife's new general manager. Doherty replaces former Floralife CEO, Jim Sykora who has retired. EthylBloc™ is a trade name owned by AgroFresh. Although
both the SmartFreshSM and EthylBloc™ products are known for preserving freshness and quality, they are very unique products. The
SmartFreshSM Quality System is manufactured and legally approved for
food use, specifically with fresh fruits and vegetables. EthylBloc™ is
formulated for floral use only.
Floralife, Inc., which began in 1938 with the introduction of Floralife Fresh
Flower Food, employs 55 people. It offers a complete range of Floriculture solutions including cut flower food and hydration products. “Floralife products enhance the quality of flowers starting from the field harvest all the way to table top display,” explained Doherty. "We believe our products ultimately lead to a better experience and enjoyment of fresh flowers for the consumer." Other
Floralife product items include flower food, shapes, adhesives, and cutlery generally
sold to flower growers and retailers.
Floralife will continue to operate its global headquarters in Walterboro, South
Carolina with little disruption to its employee or customer base. It remains
a separate legal entity and will retain its name and trademarks. Both AgroFresh
and Floralife will continue to operate independently until further notice. Customers
for both companies will continue to place orders and receive service as they
have in the past.
Questions related to this change in ownership can be called into Floralife’s customer service department using their toll-fee number: 1-800-323-3689.
Financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.
This release includes forward-looking statements. Actual results could vary materially, due to changes in current expectations. The forward-looking statements contained in this announcement concerning demand for products and services, sales and earnings growth, and actions that may be taken to improve financial performance, involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change. Further information about these risks can be found in Rohm and Haas Company's SEC 10-K filing of March 2, 2006.
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