Sales Director Named for Blade Energy Crops
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — October 30, 2008 — Ceres, Inc. announced today that Frank Hardimon will lead seed sales for its Blade Energy Crops brand. The industry veteran and certified crop advisor will manage both direct-to-farm relationships as well as commercial seed transactions with biofuel and biopower companies. Early bookings for the first switchgrass and high-biomass sorghum seeds are scheduled to begin next month.
Anna Rath, vice president of commercial development, said that Hardimon brings a strong background in the seed industry to the nascent energy crop business. “Frank knows how important long-term relationships are to the seed business and has a strong rapport with the farming community. His 20 years of experience in seed sales and crop development will be a valuable resource for producers.” She noted that Hardimon joined the company in time to assess this year’s seed production and commercial plots at maturity and has seen how switchgrass and high-biomass sorghum perform across the country.
Hardimon says that his goal is to help producers quickly move up the learning curve with these new crops. “Energy crops provide new options for growers, especially for underperforming acres, and there’s lots of excitement, but I’m sure that this first year of sales will involve a lot of education,” he said.
“Our goal this year is to help jumpstart the market for biomass by getting energy crops in the hands of the experts – the people who will be growing and using it,” noted Hardimon. He said that Blade’s first customers will include innovative growers interested in getting ahead the market for biomass as well as bioenergy companies who want to learn more about how energy crops perform in their conversion processes and target locations.
Prior to joining the company, Hardimon was a regional sales manager for Great Lakes Hybrids, a brand of AgReliant Genetics, one of the top corn seed suppliers in the United States. Earlier in his career he held various positions in research and product management.
About Ceres
Ceres, Inc. is a leading developer and marketer of high-yielding energy crops that can be planted as raw materials for cellulosic ethanol production and biopower. Its development efforts cover switchgrass, sorghum, miscanthus, energycane and short-rotation woody crops. The plant breeding and biotechnology company markets its switchgrass seed and sorghum seed under its Blade Energy Crops brand. Ceres holds one of the world’s largest proprietary collections of fully sequenced plant genes. The privately held firm also licenses its technology and traits to other organizations.
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