Ecolab, Cargill And Techstars Launch Accelerator Program

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) , Techstars and the world’s largest private agricultural company,­ Cargill, recently announced the launch of a accelerator program in Minnesota. The program is called ‘Farm to Fork Accelerator’.

The three-month program aims at integrating innovative ideas from other companies that are focused on agriculture, food-based digital technology, food processing and food safety.

Notably, 30 high-potential companies will be selected for the program that will receive monetary investment and mentoring from Ecolab and Cargill experts over the next three years. These companies can also leverage on Techstars’ global network.

Notably, the application process for the program opens in January 2018. The program will begin from July 2018.

Market Potential

The global population has quadrupled in this century. Per reports, the world will require 35% more food than the current period by 2030. The Farm to Fork Accelerator will enable companies upgrade technologies to meet the growing demand.

Factors including climate change, urbanization along with lack of investment and production have been major concerns for food companies. The program introduced by Ecolab, Cargill and the Techstars is expected to improve the current situation.

Ecolab Inc. Price

Acquisitions in Focus

The latest development closely follows Ecolab’s acquisition of Scotland-based Arpal Group. Arpal provides cleaning and sanitizing products and services in the United Kingdom and the Middle East.

The MedTech major announced the acquisition of three U.S. pest services companies that provide specialized services in food storage. The transactions are worth $36 million and were closed on Dec 1. The acquired companies are Food Protection Services LLC, Royal Pest Solutions, Inc. and Research Fumigation Company, LLC. The development expands Ecolab’s pest elimination solutions for the food and beverage industry.

In September, the company signed an agreement to acquire the paper chemicals business of Georgia-Pacific. The deal will enhance Ecolab’s position in the growing Tissue and Towel as well as the Packaging and Board segments of the paper industry.

Price Performance

Year to date, Ecolab’s stock has traded above the industry. The company has returned almost 15.1% compared with the industry’s rally of 10.6%. Ecolab continues to witness improvement in underlying sales volume and pricing in most business segments.

A robust product portfolio, launches and expanding customer base is likely to drive organic sales, while the realization of targeted synergies associated with acquisitions will expand margins. Further, solid performance in the company’s Global Institutional segment is a positive. Sales increased 6.6% to $1.22 billion at the segment in the last quarter, courtesy of strong growth in the Specialty and Healthcare business lines.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

The stock has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A few better-ranked stocks in the broader medical sector are PetMed Express (NASDAQ:PETS) , Luminex Corporation (NASDAQ:LMNX) and IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) .

Notably, PetMed Express flaunts a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The company has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 10%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Luminex yielded a return of 6.4% over the last year. The stock sports a Zacks Rank #1.

IDEXX Laboratories has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 19.8%. The stock rose 39.2% over a year’s time and carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

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