Pest Management Professional, November 2009

S P O N S O R E D B Y Q A With Steve Levy By Frank H Andorka Jr Editorial Director I recently talked with Steve Levy president of Bell Labs in Madison Wis on his take on the state of the pest management industry Q Tell me about what 2009 was for Bell Labs Levy The economic turmoil has caused most businesses to reevaluate at how they do business and examine all the components of their businesses and that was no different for us Our business luckily continued to be healthy through this severe downturn and to this day That was the good news Q How did the economy affect the way your customers did business Levy One of the things we saw was that some of our customers re examined their businesses and wanted to approach business differently In many instances we had to adjust how we were servicing accounts Q What kind of adjustments did you have to make Levy Well everyone was certainly looking for more value They were also looking for new products that would allow them to get in front of their customers with a stronger story One of the principles that I preach to my organization is that the best way to enter a recession is to meet it head on with valuable products We always have a the state of your industry Focus on 2010 pipeline of products and we were fortunate enough to have a number of them come to fruition and that helped us as we entered the downturn Q What kinds of new products did you bring to market Levy One was the Load and Lock which is an enhanced system for securing bait stations More and more pest management companies are requiring that bait stations be secured and yet need to be serviced quickly and cleaned easily So we designed the Loadand Lock to meet those needs We also hit the organic market head on As many pest management professionals PMPs are trying to address the needs of the green market we were able to introduce the first and only baits that are registered by the Environmental Protection Agency EPA for use in organic production That product is called Terad AG and thats a big deal 3 because before that there were no organic approved rodenticides We also have a bait that is specifically formulated for mice that are potentially resistant and we will be launching that at NPMA PestWorld 2009 along with a monitoring bait that has a biomarker which fluoresces when rodents leave fecal matter Its an incredible breakthrough for monitoring and recognizing rodent infestations Q What do you see ahead in 2010 for the pest management industry and Bells place in it Levy When economic times are tough its time for the competent PMPs to shine Its a natural inclination for consumers to cut back in tough economic times and its our job as an industry to be a clear alternative to do it yourself pest management We need to do that through our expertise our know how and the excellence of the products we use From Bells perspective its our job to continue to innovate and deliver quality products that answer the problems that are occurring out in the field That enables PMPs to bring professionalism and expertise to their customers We think one of the best ways to do that is to bring new improved and innovative products to the market My economic assessment is that 2010 from a national perspective is still going to be difficult Im not saying theres going to be a doubledip recession but I wouldnt be surprised PMPs need to remember that value never goes out of style Any PMP or any company will succeed if there is no ambiguity with respect to the value that the company offers PMP You can reach Andoraka at 216 706 3735 or fandorka@ questex com S2 PEST MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONAL NOVEMBER 2009 www mypmp net