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Innovation is a key aspect of Suterra team members. Our engineering and sourcing departments regularly solve problems in creative, out-of-the-box ways. We met with leaders from these two teams to learn more about what is unique and rewarding about working at Suterra.
When envisioning a career in sourcing, you may picture core responsibilities that do not differ much between companies besides the raw materials. Michelle Parker, Senior Manager of Sourcing, remarked that this could not be further from the truth at Suterra. Suterra manufactures highly unique products specific to the industry and demands the highest-quality materials available. Parker often vets vendors in person, enabling Suterra to clearly communicate the quality standards needed by Suterra and our grower customers.
Zak Clark, the Director of Engineering, continues this point, remarking on the uniqueness of Suterra within the agricultural industry.
“We adapt proven technologies from other industries and use them in new ways to provide the reliability and quality our customers have come to expect.”
Cross-department collaboration at Suterra means that employees regularly work with experts from other departments, allowing all team members to expand their expertise into many aspects of the business.
Parker talks about how this relates to her experience in sourcing at Suterra “Vendors don't have to know everything about pheromones, and we don't expect you to. We are looking for them to be experts in their industry. We’re in a fortunate position to have labs and equipment here plus talented colleagues to be able to test and validate materials to our particular applications, working together with the vendor to make sure that the material meets our needs, et cetera.”
Resourcefulness and willingness to innovate are by no means a value exclusive to the sourcing team. For the engineering team, innovation is what they do best. As Zak Clark remarks, the innovation within the company is not done under a ‘do-or-die’ mindset but instead is out of a genuine desire to bring the best possible products to the grower.
Clark elaborates, “We have the energy of a startup and innovate like a startup without the anxiety of venture capital funding. Being grower-owned, we focus our efforts on building value for growers and, as a result, a stable long-term business.”
One of the most appreciated aspects of Suterra by employees is our commitment to environmental sustainability. Suterra’s mating disruption protects hundreds of thousands of acres of crops worldwide from agricultural pests while helping growers reduce the use of broad-spectrum insecticides, protect beneficial insects, and provide clean food for consumers.
All of this starts at the ground level, which is why building high-quality products that growers can trust and are willing to adopt is vital. Clark’s favorite thing about his career is seeing how his work has had a tangible effect on growers’ livelihoods and the world we all share.
“It's cool to be on the cutting edge of our own technology, but it's even better if we're making seismic shifts in these huge markets and making better food for people… that’s really awesome.”
Contact us to learn more about the services and support we offer for mating disruption and what makes us unique.