Exhibiting at the biennial Australian Cotton Conference on at the Gold Coast this week are KIVAS sales agronomist Hollie Gall, CEO Grant Statton, sales representative Greg Dawson and sales agronomist Craig Foreman. Photo: KIVAS

MORT & Co Fertilisers is today rebranding as KIVAS to mark the next stage for the four-year-old business, which will be staying on at its existing location at Mort & Co’s Grassdale feedlot.

Unveiling of the KIVAS brand has taken place today at the Australian Cotton Conference on the Gold Coast as a nod to the product range’s connection to broadacre and irrigated cropping.

Executive chair of KIVAS is Charlie Kivas Mort, who founded Mort & Co in 1997 and worked with a team and investors to grow it into Australia’s leading privately owned lot-feeding business.

The KIVAS name was chosen to retain connection to the Mort family and the agricultural legacy behind the value-adding business, while establishing a distinct identity for its next phase of development.

“I’ve always believed that agriculture progresses when we are prepared to look at a familiar challenge differently,” Mr Mort said.

“Once Grassdale expanded, I looked at the volume of manure being generated and the limited area for its use and believed it had much great potential.

“The challenge was to transform it into something practical, consistent and valuable to agriculture and our farmers.”

Mr Mort said the development of KIVAS reflected the same willingness to challenge convention that
had driven Mort & Co’s growth.

“I guess the idea began with granules as a fertiliser, but its potential is much broader.”

The engineered granules are suitable for application through modern agricultural equipment, including air seeders, and are used on a range of crops.

“Changing the brand to KIVAS is the next step in that work and gives the team the freedom to continue exploring what else may be possible.”

The initial Mort & Co Fertilisers business was so named because fertiliser was the closest established market category for its granulated products.

However, continued research, commercial trials and product development demonstrated the
conventional fertiliser category did not adequately explain the product, its function or its broader
potential.

KIVAS chief executive officer Grant Statton said the new identity provided clarity for the market and greater scope for future innovation.

“Mort & Co Fertilisers was the right name at the beginning of our journey, but our knowledge of the
product has developed significantly since then,” Mr Statton said.

“We have learned that what we are creating does not fit neatly within the traditional fertiliser  category.

“Continuing to market the business in that category limits how people understand the product
and restricts the story we are able to tell.”

“KIVAS gives us an identity of our own and the freedom to develop beyond a single product, application or format.

“Granules remain an important part of our business, but they do not represent the limit of
our ambition.”

Mr Statton said KIVAS would build on its origins while establishing relationships and opportunities
across the Australian agricultural sector.

“This innovation started at Grassdale, but the opportunities are not limited to one region or one agricultural industry.

“KIVAS is an Australian business built to work alongside Australian growers, advisers, researchers and industry partners.”

Completing the KIVAS management team is its non-executive director Stephen O’Brien, who is currently CEO of Mort & Co.

The fertiliser business is separate to the Mort & Co feedlot business, which in April listed Grassdale feedlot for sale.

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