Here’s to 10 Years of Advancing Product Formulation Innovation

It all started with one chemist operating from one lab and pilot plant out of a CJB Industries warehouse 10 years ago. The goal was to support companies that needed additional formulation and testing capacity beyond their staffing capabilities and those that weren’t big enough to hire and maintain their own formulation development staff.

Clinton Beeland, founder and CEO of CJB Companies, recalled, “We started CJB Applied Technologies because we saw a void within the industry, and we were being asked by customers at CJB Industries for expanded formulation services. We began by providing the agricultural and specialty chemical sectors with formulation and process development, pilot plant capabilities, independent ingredient sourcing, and analytical testing.”

He continued, “We started to pick up momentum around 2017 when we landed our first large, multi-year project formulating a biological product. We were also gaining multiple projects from several of our strategic customers, which was proof to us that they were pleased with our work. This led us to realize we needed to expand and upgrade our space, which we did in 2020.”

Today, CJB Applied Technologies resides in our own state-of-the-art facility containing synthetic chemistry and Biosafety Level II bioconversions laboratories, an onsite greenhouse and three pilot plant systems. Our team includes formulation chemists, analytical chemists, pilot plant operators, biologists, quality control technicians and sales specialists.

An organizational restructuring in December 2024 created a dedicated sales and business development team while transitioning to a new general manager as part of a deliberate succession plan for the family-owned CJB Companies. The new leadership team will drive CJB Applied Technologies to expand beyond our core agricultural and specialty chemical markets to become the science partner in product evolution for additional formulation-based industries, such as industrial, biocides, inks and coatings, and more.

Can-do mentality combined with flexibility deliver customer successes over 10 years

For 10 years, the success of CJB Applied Technologies has been in part because we make it easy for customers to do business with us, and we remain intensely focused on creating more avenues of flexibility with current and future customers. This includes working with companies to solve challenges others have been unable to solve, accommodating a range of project types and durations, and adapting to company needs from startups to multinationals. 

“Outside of just good, quality stuff coming out of CJB, our experience in working with the CJB teams is that they are very flexible and have good communication,” said Tom Wood, president and general manager, Belchim Crop Protection, USA. “Not everything in business is fun to do, but the CJB teams have been a pleasure to work with. It’s a good atmosphere. It’s a good collaboration, and we really appreciate it.”

The director of manufacturing with another customer provided additional perspective. “For our pre-commercialization phase, we needed our product in 1-quart jugs. Each jug needed to be placed into a box, and then 12 of those boxes placed into a larger box for shipping. All of that had to be done by hand. You don’t find a lot of companies that are that flexible and willing to take on a project like that with short notice. Most of them just want something to drop into an automated line and say, ‘okay, let’s go.’ CJB Applied Technologies used their pilot plant facility to do this for us. The flexibility of the CJB teams has really been critical to our development because without that, it would have been difficult for us to get products out into the field in the timeframe we desired.”

CJB Applied Technologies has earned such feedback because our team is grounded in the CJB core values, or RITES, of respect, integrity, trust, excellence and stewardship. These qualities contribute to our can-do mentality and flexibility that have benefited customers over the past 10 years.

Future focus is centered on continued customer commitment amplified through elevated capabilities and services

As our leadership team looks toward the future, it continues to lean into the CJB RITES to enhance the customer experience. In addition, the team is exploring opportunities where it makes sense to deploy digital advancements and innovative technologies while remaining flexible to the needs of current and future customers.

“We are evolving our approach to the market to meet the expanding needs of our customer base,” explained Mitchell Tatar, general manager of CJB Applied Technologies and director of innovation for CJB Companies. “Some companies are looking for full-service formulation support so they don’t need to invest in labs and equipment. Others are looking to supplement the capacity of their in-house R&D teams. Some may need help with data creation to meet EPA requirements. Others may want additional field trial or efficacy testing support. We are building our systems and capabilities to accommodate those varied needs.”

Our new sales team is offering customers flexibility in how projects are set up and managed. Agreements may be project-based, service-based or retainer-based. They also are facilitating connection and continuity of projects that are transitioning to CJB Industries for production. In addition to adaptations that directly address customer needs, CJB Applied Technologies is looking at ways to create synergies within our systems, from data management and analysis to process optimization and reporting.

“We are excited for the future of CJB Applied Technologies. Our new leadership team is infused with expertise in analytics and AI, a keen understanding of market priorities and developing customer relationships, and a deep knowledge of our current capabilities and customers,” Beeland said. “The business is poised to push the boundaries of how technology, digital advancements, and elevated services can add value for our current and future customers.”