Wolf Trax Inc. finds new partner

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This article was published 10/11/2012 (4924 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Fresh off receiving a prestigious Manning Award for innovation last month, the Winnipeg plant nutrients company, Wolf Trax Inc., has partnered with one of the largest grass and forage seed companies in Canada.

Starting in the 2013 growing season, Ontario-based Pickseed Canada Inc. will include Wolf Trax’s patented seed-applied fertilizer in every bag of seed Pickseed sells in Western Canada.

The product, called Protinus, is approved by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to deliver faster, more even-emergence, larger seedlings with longer, more developed roots and the ability to withstand early stressful growing conditions.

“We are pretty excited about that particular deal,” said Kerry Green, who founded the company along with Geoff Gyles. The two received a $10,000 Manning prize at a gala event in Ottawa last month.

“This will get us into a whole line of forage seeds and grass seeds across Canada,” said Green. “And despite the fact we are out of Winnipeg and based in Western Canada, we went primarily into the U.S., Mexican and European markets before we came back to Canada.”

The secret behind Wolf Trax’s products is a patented coating for micronutrients known as DDP, which stands for dry dispersible powder. The coating put on micronutrients sticks to the macronutrients in fertilizers, so every ounce of product has the same amount of micronutrients.

Whereas the DDP products are specifically targeted for nutrient deficiencies, its Protinus seed product can be used effectively everywhere.

“We look at Western Canada and Protinus is a product that can perform on every single acre. It is a big step for us,” said Green. “The potential market, looking at Western Canada, is huge. Looking at the worldwide market, it is massive.”

Pickseed sells seeds around the world, but Terry Scott, the company’s director of western sales, said initially Protinus will only be included in Pickseed’s western Canadian distribution base.

But it seems likely that will change.

The two private Canadian companies did not disclose financial details of the deal but Scott said Pickseed will likely become a big account for Wolf Trax.

It’s part of a continuum of good news for the Winnipeg company that started selling its DDP product in 2002.

Green said it took five or six years before they got to the point where they didn’t have to go and prove the efficacy of its micronutrient formulation for every customer.

Now it has 25 employees, including seven salespeople throughout Canada, the U.S. and Europe.

It is in the process of establishing a second contract manufacturing site in Arizona and potentially another in Dallas, Texas, as well.

“We are growing quite rapidly on a year-to-year basis,” said Green. “Part of it is geographic expansion. And a large part is growth of the Protinus product.”

Wolf Trax’s products are gaining some traction in the market now but Green said he has heard his company referred to as a 10-year overnight success.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca