Maximum Yield USA June/July 2019 | Page 58

“ OUR COMPANY IS ONLY AS GOOD AS THE PEOPLE SELLING OUR PRODUCTS and I am very proud of the distribution channels and retailers we have aligned ourselves with.” From Left: Morgan Sumner, Luke Gillan, Nathan Hunter, Holly Mail, Sasha Jones & Rachael Maur HOW DID CYCO GAIN MARKET SHARE AND RECOGNITION? Cyco Nutrients has always been at the forefront of the tradeshows, online marketing platforms, and magazines to our own forum and help center. In 2018, we participated in 20 trade shows and a magnitude of customer appreciation days. All aiding in the product support and in return helping our retailers, which relayed onto our end users. HAS CYCO MOVED OR EXPANDED SINCE THE BEGINNING? Cyco Nutrients has been moved four times in its growth cycle, as we grow out of each facility within a few years. I simply did not think we would ever become the size we are; in saying that I am hoping the last move is hopefully our last. The latest facility we purchased has ample room for expansion as we built an extra facility next to the current one to allow for extra international growth, as I learned my lesson with the first few times. We brought the current facility in 2013 and revamped it for the purpose of fertilizer manufacturing. The facility has the capacity to produce 30,000 bottles a day of all sizes and hold 3,000 pallets of back-up stock, giving our clients minimal wait times for their orders to sail. 58 Maximum Yield WHAT IS CYCO’S CURRENT PRODUCT LINE? We have the original “Cyco Platinum Series” line of liquid products that has served our end users well over the years and I’m sure will remain our go-to product for most hydroponic growers. In 2018 we launched the “Outback Series” of dry fertilizers aimed at the outdoor/ greenhouse growers, and our latest product is the “Commercial Series” — a one-part powder solution which we developed with larger commercial grows in mind… look out for that one in the first quarter of 2019. WHERE DO YOU DISTRIBUTE? We distribute through leading distrib- utors in each country; some of these distributors distribute into several coun- tries which lightens our load and makes handling such a large market easier for us at head office. In Australia, we self-dis- tribute and have Accent Hydroponics aid us in national distribution. In the United States we have the Hawthorne Gardening Co., and in Canada we have Hydrotek. In Spain we have Hortitec, and in England we have Eden Horticulture, and the list goes on. From our distribution channels, the Cyco products are then shipped to leading hydroponic stores in approximately 40 countries. We found having strong relationships with our distributors works the best for our company and brand. I have never wanted to self-distribute as I was a store owner and understand the politics of manufacturers selling direct. We pride ourselves on working closely with our distributors and the trust we show each other as they know we will not sell direct to their hydroponic store clients, nor to the end users keeping our hydroponic retailers safe and making money — which I think is crucial to maintain a solid long-term product reputation and, for me, trust and relationships is everything for gaining growth and good business. HOW MANY PEOPLE NOW WORK FOR CYCO? Thirty in Australia and another 11 offshore giving us a total of 41. WHAT ARE YOUR COMPANY’S STRENGTHS? The quality of our product being the first and most important. The Cyco products are manufactured with the highest-grade inputs, our products are manufactured with analytical/pharmaceutical inputs which is perfect in a medical/recre- ational market resulting in its growing popularity in the medical recreation markets not to mention the numerous awards and growers cups it has won for its purity. Our second-most important strength is we manufacture all our own products in house — liquid nutrients, dry fertilizers, and rooting hormones, giving us full control of our own quality control and ensuring we deliver the best possible product to market and of the highest grade possible, time after time.