Rick S. Turner has been named president of Gustafson LLC to replace T. Gilliam Austin, who has served as company president since 1994. Mr. Austin previously announced plans to retire in January 2004 but delayed retirement until conclusion of a pending purchase of Gustafson by Bayer CropScience. That purchase was completed yesterday.

“Gil guided the company through some major changes in both the industry and our company,” says Mr. Turner. “We appreciate the many contributions he made to the success of this organization.”

Mr. Austin initially came to Gustafson from Merck & Company in 1976 as sales manager. In 1980, he was promoted to vice president of sales and marketing. It was this position he held when named president of Gustafson in 1994. Under his guidance, the company’s annual sales have grown several-fold since 1994.
Mr. Turner joined Gustafson in 1994 as vice president of marketing. Previously, he was associated with Uniroyal Chemical Company, Gustafson’s owner at that time. With Uniroyal, he spent 17 years in a variety of sales, product development, research and management positions.

“Over the years, the seed protection products developed and marketed by Gustafson have contributed greatly to the abundance of food and fiber produced by North American farmers,” Mr. Austin said. “I’m thankful for the opportunity to contribute to the success of American agriculture and to the success of this company. I leave knowing that the company’s leadership is in strong and capable hands.”

Gustafson LLC is North America’s leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of proprietary chemistry, biological agents and application equipment for seed treatment and seedling protection. The Gustafson product line includes fungicides, insecticides, biological products, grain protectants, seed coatings, seed-treatment equipment, treatment applicators and automatic sampling equipment.