What William Houde does

William Houde Ltée, operating commercially as William Houde TIMAC AGRO Canada, is a Quebec-based agricultural input company founded in 1949 and wholly owned by French conglomerate Groupe Roullier. The company manufactures and distributes proprietary plant nutrition and animal production solutions — including nitrogen stabilizers (EXCELIS MAXX, DUO MAXX), foliar biostimulants (FERTILEADER series using Seactiv technology), root biostimulants (FERTIACTYL GZ, FERTIACTYL STARTER), soil conditioners (HUMISTART-PHYSIOPRO), specialty fertilizers (TOP-PHOS, BrioP), and livestock solutions (ACTIPOST 360, ACTISAN 360). Product formulations are built on six patented or proprietary technology platforms — TOP-PHOS, Seactiv, LCN Complex, Rhizovit, DUO MAXX, and Fertiactyl — developed through Groupe Roullier's global R&D infrastructure and validated by independent studies (e.g., Purpan School of Agronomy 2013; Stratus Ag Research 2024). All products are produced at 10 company-owned Canadian factories.

The business model is a direct-to-farmer specialty agricultural inputs sale: 100 ATC (Agricultural Technical Conseillers) field representatives deliver personalized on-farm agronomic advice and crop planning across four Canadian provinces (Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba), supplemented by partnerships with progressive agricultural input distributors. Customer segments include row-crop farmers, specialty crop growers (vineyards, potatoes, orchards), and livestock producers. The company employs 235 people in Canada, supports 235 employees (101–250 range), and maintains agronomist licensing compliance under Quebec's Ordre des agronomes du Québec. The GTM motion is enterprise field sales with deep technical advisory embedded in every transaction.

Recent strategic posture centers on measured geographic expansion into the Prairie provinces, active SKU development within the FERTILEADER and EXCELIS MAXX product families, scientific partnerships with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (2023) and the University of Calgary, and a May 2026 leadership team reinforcement explicitly tied to Quebec growth. The company holds ISO 14001 environmental certification across TIMAC AGRO's global factory footprint and was certified as a Great Place to Work in 2025.

Name

William Houde

Legal name

William Houde Ltée

Website

https://williamhoude.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1949

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

William Houde (operating as William Houde TIMAC AGRO Canada) is a Quebec-based agricultural input manufacturer and distributor, wholly owned by France's Groupe Roullier, serving Canadian farmers across four provinces with proprietary fertilizers, biostimulants, soil conditioners, and animal nutrition products via 100 field agronomists.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Inputs

NAICS

Pesticide, Fertilizer, and Other Agricultural Chemical Manufacturing (3253), Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers (42491)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Agronomy Advisory & Field Services (Retailer-Affiliated) (AFABAJAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Organic & Biological Input Retail (Biostimulants, Biopesticides, OMRI) (AFABAJAK)

Keywords

• Agricultural fertilizers
• Plant biostimulants
• Soil conditioners
• Nitrogen stabilizers
• Animal nutrition products

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint Simon

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Agricultural inputs (fertilizers, biostimulants, soil conditioners): Sale of proprietary fertilizers, biostimulants, soil conditioners, and animal production products directly to agricultural producers through ATC field representatives and distributor partnerships. Products are manufactured in-house at company-owned factories.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

William Houde Ltée manufactures and sells plant nutrition products (proprietary fertilizers, foliar and root biostimulants, soil conditioners, and nitrogen stabilizers) and animal production solutions (manure treatment and hygienic bedding) directly to agricultural producers. The company operates 10 manufacturing factories across Canada and distributes products through 100 ATC (Agricultural Technical Conseillers) field representatives and agricultural input distributors across Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. The company also offers seeds and personalized agronomic advisory services.

Product overview

William Houde TIMAC AGRO is a Canadian agricultural company specializing in plant and animal nutrition. The product portfolio centers on plant nutrition solutions including nitrogen stabilizers (EXCELIS MAXX, DUO MAXX), foliar biostimulants (FERTILEADER line with ALPHA, GOLD, AXIS, VITAL, MAGICAL, TONIC variants using Seactiv™ technology), Fertiactyl root biostimulants (GZ, STARTER), soil conditioners (HUMISTART-PHYSIOPRO), and fertilizers (TOP-PHOS, BrioP). Animal production solutions include ACTIPOST 360 for manure treatment and ACTISAN 360 for hygienic bedding. The company also offers seeds and agricultural services. All products are manufactured in their own facilities (10 factories) with 75 years of agricultural expertise in Quebec, serving farmers across 4 Canadian provinces through 100 ATC representatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• EXCELIS MAXX

Quantifiable outcome

• 4x lower ammonia loss with EXCELIS MAXX vs. unstabilized urea in Manitoba field demonstration (100 ppm vs. 400 ppm)
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Agriculture et Agroalimentaire Canada (AAC) / Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2023Timac Agro Canada announced a collaboration with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada on a project related to soil health and root diseases in legume crops. Scientific researchers Dr. Syama Chatterton and Dr. Michelle Hubbard are leading the research. The project will evaluate Timac Agro's innovative soil amendment technologies across five Canadian research sites (two in Alberta, three in Saskatchewan) to assess their ability to reduce root rot severity and increase legume crop yields.
• Ecole d'Agronomie de PurpancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducted detailed corn trial in 2013 on clay-type soil to demonstrate TOP-PHOS effectiveness. Study showed +14% nitrogen absorption, +17% sulfur absorption, and +8% phosphorus absorption compared to control, proving TOP-PHOS reduces nutrient loss and eutrophication risk.
• Stratus Ag ResearchminorOthersIndependent market research firm specializing in agricultural sector. Conducted 2024 market study among 400+ Ontario corn producers identifying Excelis Maxx as the #1 nitrogen stabilizer in Ontario and one of the most commonly used stabilizers in Western Canada.
• Université de CalgaryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with University of Calgary on drought tolerance research in canola, advancing understanding of crop stress resistance.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Yara International: Norwegian global fertilizer manufacturer with significant Canadian presence through Yara Canada. Comparable because it manufactures nitrogen and specialty crop nutrition products, and competes with William Houde on biostimulant and foliar nutrition categories.
• Corteva Agriscience: Global agriculture company selling seeds, crop protection, and digital agronomy. Comparable at the broad portfolio level; its biologicals and crop nutrition offerings overlap with William Houde's biostimulant and soil conditioner categories.
• FMC Corporation: US-based agricultural sciences company with crop protection, plant nutrition, and biological products. Comparable to William Houde in the overlap between its crop nutrition/biological products and William Houde's biostimulant and specialty fertilizer categories.
• Nutrien Ag Solutions: The retail arm of Nutrien Ltd., the world's largest fertilizer producer and a major Canadian ag-input distributor. Comparable because it directly competes with William Houde's ATC field-sales model through its own agronomist network, and its Loveland Products subsidiary sells crop protection and specialty nutrition products overlapping with William Houde's biostimulant and stabilizer lines.
• Bayer Crop Science: Global ag-input giant with seeds, crop protection, and digital farming tools. Comparable because its plant-health and biologicals portfolio competes broadly with William Houde's biostimulant lines in Canadian row-crop and specialty-crop markets.
• ICL Group: Israeli specialty fertilizer and phosphate producer. Comparable to William Houde on specialty phosphorus-based nutrition (analogous positioning to TOP-PHOS) and plant nutrition innovations relevant to the Canadian specialty crop and horticulture markets.

Emerging players

• Agrinos: Biological crop inputs company producing microbial-based biostimulants and soil health products. Comparable to William Houde in the biostimulant category as both companies target soil microbial activity and nutrient-use efficiency, though Agrinos operates at a smaller scale with less direct Canadian presence.
• Lallemand Plant Care: Canadian-based (Montreal) subsidiary focused on biological plant care products including biostimulants, biofungicides, and mycorrhizae. Comparable to William Houde because it competes in the same Canadian biostimulant category with overlapping crop targets and on-farm distribution through agronomic advisors.

Direct peers

• Koch Agronomic Services: Koch's crop-nutrition division produces nitrogen stabilizers (including AGROTAIN NBPT-based products) and micronutrients. Highly comparable because EXCELIS MAXX and DUO MAXX directly compete with Koch's N-Protect and SUPERU stabilizer brands across the North American market.
• Loveland Products (Nutrien subsidiary): Nutrien's crop-input brand offering crop protection, nutrition, and specialty adjuvants including biostimulant and fertilizer lines. Directly comparable because Loveland's specialty plant nutrition portfolio competes head-to-head with William Houde's FERTILEADER and FERTIACTYL product lines.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/william-houde

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about William Houde