In the late 1990s, when the fertiliser industry in NZ was undergoing a significant amount of consolidation, dairy farmers Ross Karl, Rob Phillips, and Ken Titchener bucked this trend by forming their own fertiliser company to make dicalcic phosphate.
Ross says, “I was growing very small clover, had compacted soil, and I just was not happy with what was happening with my stock. I was also using DAP (di-ammonium phosphate). The stock weren’t thriving on what I was growing.”
After visiting Rob Phillips who had been using a dicalcic phosphate on his Otorohanga farm, Ross was so impressed with the quality of the pasture that he decided to give dicalcic phosphate a go too.
Three years later
Three years later, Ross was noticing a real difference in his herd. He says, “ I actually got a ring from my vet, wanting to know why my account in October – there was nothing on my October account. That was a huge thing. I used to have cows going down with milk fever, and staying down and dying. A cow that had been milking for a week or 10 days would be down in the paddock. And that started to disappear.”
Fertco origins
So in 1999, Ross and Rob got together with Ken Titchener and formed Fertco. They opened their first factory at Mt Maunganui to manufacture dicalcic phosphate.
Fertco founding members Ross Karl (left) and Rob Phillips.
Right from the start, they were very hands on, and kept a tight rein on the budget.
Ross recalls erecting the stanking walls, needed to form bins for holding the fertiliser in the factory. But rather than using concrete walls which were expensive, they devised a cheaper alternative involving metal holders and planks. This system also allowed them to put the walls in but remove them if needed.
As Rob says, “We never really expected it (Fertco) to last that long!”
But last it has, and Fertco is celebrating its twenty-fifth year in business this month with founders Ross and Rob still at the helm as board members.
People have been Fertco’s success
There have been many people along the way that have contributed to Fertco’s success.
One example is Chemical Engineer Frank King, who was brought in to develop the dicalcic phosphate ‘recipe’ and the plant to make it. Frank’s approach was to keep things simple and not use a lot of money, especially at the beginning.
So to get going, they bought and reengineered second-hand equipment, a strategy they still employ today. And they hired a crew of ex-farmers to weld things up and fix what broke because as Frank says, “they were adept at turning their hand to anything.”
The Next Move
Things progressed well, and the next move was to a bigger warehouse around the corner from their first little building. Again, the DIY philosophy was to the fore during the move. Ross says, “I got hold of a scissor-hoist, and got up there with a blower compressor to try and knock the dust off the rafters. What a job! It blew it from A to B, then from B to A!”
Innovation
The success with dicalcic phosphate encouraged further innovation. They tried granulating lime and coating urea which no one in NZ was doing at the time. When the ‘big’ companies began to copy them, they knew that they were on to something. But as Frank says, “that’s okay – that’s how science and things progress.”
A relatively recent Fertco innovation is ‘Mineral Boost’, a feed supplement to overcome mineral deficiencies in livestock, and the brainchild of current CEO Warwick Voyce.
Today
In 2021, Fertco expanded its operation by purchasing Terra Care and its Te Awamutu factory. This site now houses the Mineral Boost plant, and a second fertiliser factory.
Ross Karl, Warwick Voyce, and Frank King (from left) at the Te Awamutu factory.
Survival
When asked how Fertco has survived when many starts-ups fail, Ross says that they weren’t afraid to change things and to innovate when things weren’t going right. “And we had the determination to face up to any problems that reared their heads and not give up.”
Frank suggests that the key to Fertco’s succcess was passion: “Our hearts were in it. You see, a company does well because it’s run by the people who love it.”
