Constant Reinvention

the key to sustainability foR

pest ContRol opeRatoRs —

and basf CoRpoRation

What compelled one of the largest pest control operators in Texas to convert to Termidor® H·E High-Efficiency Termiticide?

The same impetus behind BASF’s discovery of the innovative formula: responsiveness to customers’ sustainability needs and a commitment to continuous improvement.

What does it take for a business, especially a pest control business, to stand the test of time? To successfully sustain itself?

At the least, it requires effective customer

solutions and a capable, service-oriented

staff. Just as essential is a willingness to

change with the times — to evolve with

the market.

Bobby Jenkins, President of ABC Home

and Commercial Services, is living proof

adaptation fuels business endurance. Since

he began managing the business in 1983,

he’s seen plenty of change — and learned to

successfully stay ahead of the curve.

Highly successful pest control operation

Jenkins is a second-generation pest control

operator. He was just a boy when his father

purchased the company in 1965 and put

him in print ads along with his brothers.

Today, ABC Home and Commercial Services

is Texas’ largest independently owned

and operated pest control company, with

more than 600 employees and six locations

across the country.

For ABC, sustaining success for nearly five

decades comes down to an attitude. It’s a

willingness to listen, explore, improve, and

refine their service and solutions to meet the

changing needs of the market.

Case in point: ABC Home and Commercial

Services’ complete conversion from using

the most trusted termite defense solution

in the world — Termidor® SC termiticide/

insecticide — to the next-generation

formulation: Termidor® H·E High-

Efficiency  Termiticide.

“Termidor SC termiticide/insecticide

revolutionized the industry more than any

product I’ve ever worked with,” Jenkins said.

“I can honestly say it improved the quality of my work life.”

Termidor made termites “just another insect”Before Termidor® termiticide/insecticide,

Jenkins, his staff — and virtually all pest

control professionals — were resigned

to short-lived termite control and high

retreatment rates with available products.

BASF Board Certified Entomologist

Dr. Bob Davis remembers those days well.

“For years, the industry struggled with

disappointing retreatment rates ranging

from 6 to 15 percent,” Davis recalls.

“But with the introduction of Termidor

SC termiticide/insecticide in 2000,

retreatment rates fell to less than 1 percent.

Termidor SC termiticide/insecticide

made termites just another insect.”

More recently, Davis worked with the

scientists who saw an opportunity in

using molecular technology that would

allow the active ingredient in Termidor SC

termiticide/insecticide to disperse deeper

into the soil before binding. That discovery

eventually led to the formulation of Termidor

H·E High-Efficiency Termiticide.

“BASF wanted to create a new solution

that would provide even greater value

and profitability to customers,” Davis said.

“Termidor H·E High-Efficiency Termiticide

provides the same superior efficacy of

Termidor SC termiticide/insecticide,

however, it’s doing so while saving PMPs

time, money, and labor.”

Embracing the new standardWith Termidor SC termiticide/insecticide

efficacy rate at near 100 percent, BASF

did not have plans to change its proven

formulation. But between a technician’s need

to fill and refill truck water tanks and the

onerous tasks of trench digging and drilling

and patching near the perimeter of structures,

standard residential termite treatments still

required a good deal of time and effort.

Application efficiency soon became the focus

for BASF scientists and product development

experts. “We wanted to find a way to boost

our customers’ profitability and efficiency,

and when our polymer scientists developed

a proprietary blend that could distribute the

active ingredient in the soil more precisely and

evenly, we knew we’d hit on it,” Davis said.

“Termidor H·E High-Efficiency Termiticide

has proven to be a tremendous labor saver—

we can actually show owner operators how

much they can expect to save with Termidor

H·E High-Efficiency Termiticide, and

demonstrate the actual value it adds to their

business model — beyond the price per

finished gallon of the product.”

Davis, who has worked alongside customers

using Termidor H·E High-Efficiency

For years, Termidor® SC termiticide/insecticide has set the standard

for termite control efficacy — earning the loyalty of pest control operators

around the world. Now, Termidor® H·E High-Efficiency Termiticide has

redefined termiticide application precision, volume, labor, and time.

Termidor H·E High-Efficiency Termiticide is:

• Economically sustainable because it uses 50 percent less water* than industry-standard residential termite treatments while reducing utility consumption and saving applicator fuel and time;

• Environmentally sustainable because its reduces utility consumption and lowers logistical impacts, reducing the carbon footprint over industry- standard residential termite treatments by 13 to 20 percent (depending on application methods); and

• Socially sustainable because it provides the Termidor product line 10-year pledge to pest management professionals, allowing confidence in protection of homes without reapplication, and it alleviates much of the physical burden on pest control technicians through a simpler

application process.

TERMIDOR H·E High-Efficiency Termiticide meets the three pillars of sustainability

The ability to measure sustainability is a critical part of BASF business strategy and decision-making, informing the research, development, and marketing of every new product. BASF uses consistent and verifiable measures to evaluate sustainability, measuring impacts on the environment, economy, and society.

For BASF to consider a product sustainable, it must balance economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility.

Environmental impacts for Termidor H·E High-Efficiency Termiticide include multiple variables throughout the lifecycle of the product — from the water, electricity, and fossil fuels used to produce, store, and distribute the product to customers, to the actual use of the product in the field, including fuel, water, soil impact, and disposal.

CrEATE vALuE

EConomy

ProvIDE SoLuTIonS

EnvIronmEnT

GEnErATE TruST

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Termiticide for the first time, reports users’

positive reactions to Termidor H·E High-

Efficiency Termiticide. “Some of the techs

who used to get home at 8 or 9 p.m. are

now coming home at 6 p.m., and they really

like that,” Davis said. He routinely sees

technicians saving 30 minutes per project on

filling and pumping water and reducing their

trenching and patching time by one-third

or more.

ABC Home and Commercial Services

was one of the businesses that made the

switch to Termidor H·E High-Efficiency

Termiticide shortly after its market

introduction in 2012. And today the company

has standardized its termite treatments

around Termidor H·E High-Efficiency

Termiticide exclusively.

Jenkins had dual reasons for converting to

Termidor H·E High-Efficiency Termiticide:

The company believed in the BASF legacy of

science-driven innovation, and ABC Home

and Commercial Services’ management was

impressed by independent, third-party proof

of the new formulation’s increased efficiency.

Termidor H·E High-Efficiency Termiticide

has undergone rigorous field testing across

20 states and at more than 100 sites from

2009 to 2011 with varying soils, foundation

types, and termite species. Trial results show:

1-year trial results: 97.6 percent control

2-year trial results: 100 percent control

After devoting more than five years of research

and experimentation to a next-generation

termiticide formulation, BASF scientists

discovered a molecular breakthrough that

amplifies dispersal of the active ingredient —

fipronil — into the soil. The new formulation

creates an Enhanced Protection Zone that

requires far less water* for the application:

about 50 percent less than traditional

treatments.*

Termidor H·E High-Efficiency Termiticide

eases the application burden for technicians,

too, reducing the average time spent on

the job by about 33 percent compared

to applications of the industry standard

product for residential termite treatment.

The average total operations time saved —

from mixing the formulation to completing

the application — is greater: 44 percent.

By combining the proven Termidor SC

termiticide/insecticide formulation with

a novel molecular technology, the resulting

Termidor H·E High-Efficiency Termiticide

works to temporarily boost the dispersion of

the product through the soil, providing a more

even distribution of the product throughout

the treatment zone.

The formulation’s enhanced soil dispersion

properties mean technicians can use smaller

soil trenches, shallower treatment depths,

and wider drill and rod spacing than with

other liquid termiticides — something ABC’s

technicians value.

“Going from a 6-inch trench to a 2-inch

trench with Termidor H·E High-

Efficiency Termiticide really improves

working conditions for our service people,”

Jenkins said. “It frees them to be more

productive and also makes their jobs easier.”

Transitioning to Termidor H·E High-Efficiency TermiticideWhen ABC Home and Commercial Services

converted from Termidor SC termiticide/

insecticide to Termidor H·E High-

Efficiency Termiticide, Jenkins

joined a multitude of like-minded pest

control companies who are attuned to

their customers’ changing environmental

attitudes and are working to ensure more

sustainable operations.

“We watched how the market was evolving

and were willing to give the new product a

fair shot,” Jenkins said. He also discovered

that ABC’s customers are increasingly

interested in treatments that are less

environmentally intrusive.

TERMIDOR H·E HIgH-EFFICIENCy TERMITICIDE vERSuS TERMIDOR SC TERMITICIDE/INSECTICIDE:

ToTAL AvG. TImE — All Measured Operations Seconds Per Lineal Ft.

PROOF OF EFFICACy: TERMIDOR H·E HIgH-EFFICIENCy TERMITICIDE FIElD TRIAlS

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60.5

108.6

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120100806040200

H·E SC DIFFErEnCE

1-year trial results 2-year trial results

97.6% Control

100% Control

Always read and follow label directions.A Termidor® termiticide/insecticide application can only be performed by a licensed pest control professional.Termidor is a registered trademark and the Termidor logo is a trademark of BASF.© 2013 BASF Corporation. All rights reserved.

Putting sustainability to the testPrior to the launch of Termidor H·E High-

Efficiency Termiticide, BASF wanted

to gauge brand image and see what pest

management professionals thought about

these added sustainability values. In 2011,

four focus groups were conducted with a

total of 39 pest management professionals

from 35 companies participating.

For pest management professionals, both

BASF and the Termidor brand resonated

extremely positive. Pest management

professionals associate the Termidor line of

products with superior, reliable performance

and mentioned their relationship with BASF

as something they value highly. This positive

reaction also carried over to the conceived

sustainability values of Termidor H·E High-

Efficiency Termiticide, especially in regard

to reduced time, labor, and materials.

“You’ve got a lot less wear and tear on your

equipment. Your drill bits, your drills, your

rigs are running less time,” said one focus

group participant.

“I can cut down costs everywhere. I don’t

need a 100 gallon tank if I only need to

put out 50 gallons. I don’t have to buy that

expensive tank. I don’t have to carry that

tank around that’s heavier and spend more

on gas,” said another participant.

Combining sustainability with value

“Sustainability is more important to our

customers today — and these concerns are

here to stay for all of us,” Jenkins said. “Water

resources are a huge issue for us in Texas, so

anytime we can conserve it’s a plus.”

Previously, standard residential termite

treatments required about 80 gallons of water.

By comparison, when Jenkins’ technicians

use Termidor H·E High-Efficiency

Termiticide, they only need about 40

gallons of water* — conserving water for

the homeowner and saving time for the

technician, since one tank fill completes the

job. And since they are now hauling less

water, technicians can also use smaller trucks,

conserving fuel.

“Property owners make a sizable investment

in their structures, and they can’t afford

to put their property at risk of damage by

termites,” Davis said. “With its smaller carbon

footprint, Termidor H·E High-Efficiency

Termiticide is simply a better way for

consumers and operators to protect property

values while also saving water,* protecting the

environment, and being socially responsible.”

A view to the futureThe willingness to adapt and change — to

search out new solutions and approaches

in response to the evolving marketplace

and new customer expectations — is a

foundational practice at BASF, as it is for

thousands of progressive pest operators

like ABC Home and Commercial Services.

In 2000 the termite marketplace was

revolutionized by the introduction of

Termidor SC termiticide/insecticide.

Through a constant process of innovation

and reinvention, BASF continues to develop

more economical, effective and sustainable

pest control solutions for pest control

operators, technicians, and consumers

around the world. Termidor H·E High-

Efficiency Termiticide is the latest

advancement forward.

“I look to BASF for stewardship of the

products I use and for the industry as

a whole,” Jenkins said. “I grew up in this

industry and plan to keep evolving with

it — right along with BASF.”

*For most labeled applications

Evolution of Innovation

2012

Exterior Perimeter Localized Interior

2004

Exterior Pests Treatment

2006

FOAM

2012

2000

DRY

2010

Tomorrow