American Vanguard Corporation

American Vanguard Corporation

Company type	Public company
Traded as	NYSE:  AVD
Industry	Agrochemical
Founded	1967;58 years ago (1967)
Founders	Herbert A. Kraft and Glenn A. Wintemute
Headquarters	Newport Beach, California , United States
Area served	Worldwide
Products	Agricultural chemicals including insecticides and fertilizers
Number of employees	845 (2023)
Subsidiaries	AMVAC, AgNova, Agrinos, and AmGuard
Website	www.american-vanguard.com

American Vanguard Corporation, through its subsidiary AMVAC Chemical Corporation, is an American producer of agrochemicals and pesticide delivery systems.

The company was founded by Herbert A. Kraft and Glenn A. Wintemute, with the latter stepping down as president in 1994 and his son Eric Wintemute taking over as chairman and chief executive officer. ^{[1] [2]}

The company operates factories in Los Angeles and Axis, Alabama. ^{[3] [4]} American Vanguard trades on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol "AVD." ^[5]

Products have included dichlorvos (DDVP), ^[6] metam sodium, mevinphos, pentachloronitrobenzene (PCNB) and terbufos.

History

The company was founded in 1969 as a regional agrichemicals manufacturer in the United States. In 1971 it acquired Durham Chemical and formed the AMVAC subsidiary. In 1989 it acquired DuPont Phosdrin.

In 1991, over 19,000 gallons of metam sodium manufactured by Amvac Chemical Corporation spilled from a train derailment into Shasta Lake. ^[7] AMVAC settled resulting lawsuits for $2 million while Southern Pacific Transportation Company paid $30 million in settlements. ^[8]

In 2001, AMVAC began producing the herbicide DCPA (Dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate, trade name Dacthal) for the American market. ^[9]

In 2007, Amvac paid $300,000 in a pre-trial settlement with six workers who were exposed to dibromochloropropane (DBCP) on a Dole Food Company-operated banana plantation in the 1970s. ^[10]

In 2017, the company acquired the US rights to abamectin, Chlorothalonil, and paraquat from ADAMA Agricultural Solutions. ^[11]

In 2018, the company acquired the US and Canada Bromacil business from Bayer Crop Science. ^[12]

In August 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an emergency order to immediately remove DCPA from the market. ^[13]

References

1. "AVD | American Vanguard Corp. Company Profile & Executives - WSJ". www.wsj.com. Retrieved 2025-06-12.
2. "About Us". 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-01-13.
3. Mitchell, Ellen (30 August 2012). "AMVAC expansion gets tax breaks from Mobile County". Al.com. Advance Local Media. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
4. Miller, T Christian (8 April 2007). "Pesticide maker sees profit when others see risk". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
5. "AVD Stock Forecast, Price & News (American Vanguard)".
6. Miller, T Christian (16 May 2006). "Controversial Insecticide Allowed to Stay on Market". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
7. Mydans, Seth (21 July 1991). "Questions Linger as California Spill Sits". New York Times. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
8. Darling, Dylan (9 July 2011). "20th anniversary of Cantara Loop spill: Measures taken to keep Sacramento River clean". Redding Record Searchlight. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
9. "Dacthal Returns to the Market; Crops, Use Patterns Remain the Same". SouthWestern Farm Press Staff. 8 February 2001. Retrieved 2015-03-22.
10. "Banana Workers Get $3.3M In Pesticide Case". The Associated Press. 5 November 2007. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
11. "AMVAC buys three products from Adama to sell to US market". Southeast FarmPress. 8 June 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
12. Zimmerman, Chuck (2 July 2018). "AMVAC Purchases Bayer Bromacil Business". agwired.com. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
13. Joselow, Maxine; Ajasa, Amudalat (2024-08-06). "EPA takes emergency action to stop use of dangerous pesticide". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2024-08-06.