Romania’s Norofert opens production line in the US, partners with American investor

Norofert, a leader in regenerative agriculture research and one of the largest producers of inputs in Romania, founded in 2000 by the Popescu family, announced the start of a production line for inputs and an investment of EUR 250,000 in one of the most important agricultural areas in the US. Production will focus on the range of soil health and foliar nutrition, similar to the one from Romania, and will use bacteria produced in the laboratory in Filipeștii de Pădure.

The investment will be carried out through Norofert AG, based in Watertown, South Dakota, in partnership with Gary Lamb, an entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience in Midwest agribusiness, with extensive knowledge of the market and farmers in the area.

The company initially created, Norofert USA LLC, currently fully owned by Norofert S.A., has established a new subsidiary, Norofert AG, in which the group holds a majority stake of 51%, with Gary Lamb holding 49%.

Lamb will manage the activities of the new entity from South Dakota, overseeing sales, territorial expansion, and company administration, Norofert said.

“The technology and formulas of our products allow us access to competitive markets, and entering the US market, although delayed due to the pandemic, is an example in this regard. It is a mature market where farmers apply advanced field technologies and where climate change does not have the same negative impact as in Eastern Europe. The feasibility of the project is even greater as we benefit from the results of production and research of the microorganism multiplication laboratory in Romania, which will export concentrated strains of bacteria for use in production in the US,” said Vlad Popescu, President of the Board, Norofert.

The production line will be located in a rented space, and the automation to be implemented will allow the company to maintain a small number of employees, specifically 2, for the first year. Currently, there are pre-orders for the bacterial fertilizers to be produced in the new factory.

The start of construction for the production line is scheduled for the first week of April.

Norofert has developed its production capacities in recent years in both the area of inputs and agricultural farming, lines that will see development in the coming years. With 65 products in its portfolio, the company caters to conventional and organic farmers.

The company has been listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange’s AeRO market since 2020. Since October 2021, Norofert shares have also been included in the BETAeRO index.

During the four years of activity in the capital market, Norofert raised RON 14 million through capital increases and RON 11.5 million through a private placement of corporate bonds.