KALO Celebrates 80th

KALO, Inc., the company that pioneered bacterial legume inoculants and the first widely used tank mix spreader-activator, is celebrating 80 years of dedication to the advancement of agriculture and turf management.

“KALO has created and marketed innovative solutions for over eight decades,” says Chuck Champion, KALO President. “We’re very appreciative of the many warm, mutually beneficial and ongoing relationships we’ve enjoyed over the years with our business partners in the agricultural and turf supply channels. Now we look forward to a long and exciting future with renewed commitment.”

Established in 1932 as the KALO Inoculant Company in Quincy, Illinois, the firm developed a line of bacterial legume inoculants used by Midwest farmers to boost alfalfa and clover hay yields.

In 1968, KALO was acquired by Marion Laboratories, the Kansas City-based pharmaceutical company, and was renamed KALO Laboratories. Product research intensified, producing unique seed treatments by combining inoculants, plant nutrients and fungicides. KALO also emerged as a significant supplier of box seed treatments for soybeans.

KALO purchased Colloidal Products Corp., Petaluma, California, in 1973 and added an excellent research program and extensive line of spray adjuvants.

In 1981, KALO employees purchased their company from Marion under the current name KALO, Inc. Most of the seed treatment product line was then sold to narrow the KALO focus on the adjuvant, turf specialty and private label businesses. These remain the company’s focus as its next decade of innovation begins.

Today, KALO’s high-quality line of products includes: Regulaid (spreader-activator); Spray Start (blend of AMS); Tournament-Ready (soil surfactant); H2O Maximizer and Medalist (soil & turf wetting agents); Water FX (water conditioner); and Tronic (vegetable oil derived nonionic surfactant).