Envu, formerly Bayer Environmental Science, promises continued focus on innovation

(Photo: Envu)

The company has a new name, but the product portfolio and the desire to improve golf course conditions worldwide remains the same, says Envu CEO Gilles Galliou.

Bayer has completed the sale of its Environmental Science Professional business to international private equity firm Cinven. The purchase price: $2.6 billion. In 2021, the business generated approximately $587 million USD.

And now, Cinven rebranded the company to move forward under a new moniker: Envu.

Galliou tells Golfdom that the strength of the new company is that it can focus on its core businesses: turf and ornamental, vegetation management, forestry, professional pest management and vector control.

“This is not an opportunistic market for us,” Galliou says. “We are totally dedicated to this market, and we are only doing this. It’s an opportunity for the industry; this is the way we look at it. These industries deserve dedicated companies of significant size and capacity to innovate.”

The company, still based in Cary, N.C., employs nearly 900 people. With Envu — the name comes from a combination of environmental and vision — superintendents can expect the catalog of Bayer Environmental Science products as well as many of the same people who previously worked for Bayer.

Envu Headquarters in Cary, N.C. (Photo: Envu)

“Our goal is not to reduce our footprint, not to reduce our presence,” Galliou says. “We might be a smaller team in some locations, but our goal is to hire 200 (additional) people to create Envu. As we bring new innovation, as we bring new solutions, we’ll probably extend our presence. We have to grow first, and we have to find the right solutions for our customers.”

Portfolio mainstays

Envu’s portfolio consists of more than 180 brands, many of them golf course maintenance mainstays, like Chipco Signature, Exteris Stressgard and Tartan Stressgard. New chemistries, like Tetrino for annual bluegrass weevil and white grubs, are also in the portfolio.

Featuring the active ingredient tetraniliprole, Bayer released Tetrino last summer.

“We’re working very hard on annual bluegrass weevil in the northeast,” Galliou says. “Tetrino has been a very successful launch for us. Insecticides are in our DNA. We know how to work on them.”

Galliou adds that he wants customers to know that not only are all of Bayer Environmental Science’s golf products now available from Envu but they’re also looking to build the company by creating new partnerships in the industry.

“The pipeline of innovation that we have remains the same,” Galliou says. “Except now we have the opportunity to find new partnerships, new solutions, new ways to grow. We can engage with other players. I truly intend to find other partners, maybe in mixing products, to find combined solutions. We will also invest in new technology. This is an innovation company, and it will remain an innovation company.”

In terms of supporting the industry and being visible, from trade shows to events like the Green Start Academy, Galliou says nothing will change.

“Our commitment to the big shows, the big industry meetings, will be the same,” he says. “It’s important for people to know we exist, why we are here and how we are different.”