Key dates

Jean-Paul Simmler creates the company SBM Développement and acquires a production site that belonged to Rhône Poulenc Agrochimie, forming a partnership with the site employees. This entity, specialized in formulating and packaging plant protection products for the agricultural market, is located in Béziers, France. SBM is born, and the adventure begins…

To contribute to warehouse volumes, SBM creates a range of products for crop protection.

In the same spirit, SBM expands into the garden world by engaging in the distribution of public products with the creation of NovaJardin.

To satisfy the growing needs of the garden sector, the Group strengthens itself thanks to the acquisition of IRIS, a production site specialized in the small packaging of products.

SBM purchases the industrial unit AgrEvo ProdeTech, specialized in the formulation of insecticides in Marseille, and doubles its revenue and workforce.

Anticipating the evolution of the natural products market, SBM purchases the garden activity of Samabiol and the Solabiol brand, an expert in natural products. The move allows this new range to benefit from the Group’s comprehensive expertise in testing, registration, manufacturing, and product launches. Through this acquisition, SBM becomes France’s first major player in the garden sector to bet on natural products.

SBM buys an insecticide molecule (cypermethrin) from Bayer, for which it obtains European registration in 2006. SBM creates CMPA to market this range on the agricultural market in Europe and North Africa. The molecule will also be developed for the garden market.

Production at the Marseille factory is stopped definitively.

CMPA launches Belem, the first non-systemic soil insecticide granule with a cypermethrin base, registered for corn and sunflowers. It proves to be a success.

To strengthen its position on the market, NovaJardin expands its offer by acquiring Caussade, which specialized in consumer pest control (rat poison, rodenticide, and household insecticides). This acquisition softens the dependency on seasonality linked to garden operations and allows the company to enter a new market: home protection. The management of this entity is entrusted to Alexandre Simmler.

SBM adds essential oils to their range of activities by purchasing the Laboratoire de Combe d’Ase (LCA), a specialist in aromatherapy.

SBM creates a stir by purchasing Bayer Jardin in Europe and Bayer Advanced in the United States. In October 2016, the merger of Bayer Jardin and NovaJardin gives life to SBM Life Science in France.

The Group’s new activity is launched among the major world players in this market in Europe and North America, allowing the SBM group to triple its revenue and double its workforce.

In November 2016, the Group joins forces with the French Institute of Science and Environment Ecology (iEES) of the University Pierre et Marie Curie de Paris to create a common R&D platform for identifying active biocontrol substances.

SBM acquires shares in Germe SA a laboratory specialized in biotechnology and microbiology.

The laboratory’s know-how applied to biocontrol and biostimulant products strengthens and diversifies our expertise while supporting Solabiol in the sector of natural products.

SBM strengthens its presence in North America by purchasing Byer from its formulation and packaging site in Pasadena, Texas, demonstrating to its customers its integration throughout the entire value chain.

SBM Life Science signs an agreement with Valagro and becomes the owner of several leading brands in garden products allowing the company to market hundreds of references on the European and American markets.

SBM Life Science continues expanding its North American operations by opening its first US-based field research station in White Heath, Illinois.

SBM Company and the University of Sorbonne combine their expertise and inaugurate NatInControl, a research project established to identify and develop new biocontrol solutions efficient for plant protection against pests.

A pioneer brand in natural gardening for more than 20 years, Solabiol has been helping gardeners to beautify and maintain plants at every stage of gardening. The brand is committed to offering products that guarantee beautiful and healthy plants while respecting the environment.

SBM Company’s headquarters, La Canopée, welcomes local and international teams, clients, and partners. It is an excellent showcase of SBM’s business thanks to its employees, who are also its ambassadors and consumers. SBM tests its products and solutions on Buxus collections, veggie gardens, ornamental trees, and flowers within the site’s beautiful grounds and gardens.

The Protect Garden brand offers an extensive range of products to protect and feed plants and care for the garden.

Protect Home offers innovative products for a clean home and an efficient human protection against pests.

SBM Life Science acquires BHS’s Garden business, a key actor in the French market, specialized in fertilizers, soil, lawn seeds, plant protection and outdoor maintenance products.

This acquisition complements SBM Life Science’s range, allows it to open up new product categories, and strengthens its position on the French market by consolidating its offer on the LISA (Self Service Agriculture), garden centers and DIY networks.