Ed Rosenthal

Ed Rosenthal is the founder and Chairman of the Board of Florikan ESA LLC, a controlled-release fertilizer manufacturing company. Here are some key details about Ed Rosenthal and Florikan:

Background and Company Founding

• Ed Rosenthal grew up on a Canadian farm but initially did not want to go into agriculture.1
• In 1971, he worked for a polymer company in Canada, learning about manufacturing and molding processes.1
• Ed and his wife Betty founded Florikan ESA in 1982 with the goal of helping growers and farmers make farming more efficient.25

Company Development

• Florikan developed a controlled-release polymer-coated fertilizer, which earned a U.S. patent.1
• The company focused on environmentally beneficial products, as reflected in its full name "Florikan Environmentally Stable Agriculture".3
• By 2009, Florikan had "perfected control-release fertilizer" and was selling large quantities.3

Collaboration with NASA

• In 2004, Florikan won an award that led to collaboration with NASA's Kennedy Space Center.1
• In 2013, NASA's Vegetable Production System (Veggie) program asked Florikan to collaborate on growing vegetables on the International Space Station.1
• Florikan's Staged Nutrient Release (SNR) technology was used to grow crops in space.4

Awards and Recognition

• In 2017, Ed Rosenthal and Florikan were inducted into NASA's Space Technology Hall of Fame.14
• Florikan has received 13 major awards for ethical business practice, product innovation, job creation, and environmental leadership.2

Recent Developments

• In October 2021, Florikan was sold to Illinois-based Profile Products, with Ed's son Eric staying on as CEO.3
• Ed Rosenthal continues to serve as Chairman of the Board at Florikan.6

Ed Rosenthal's LinkedIn username is ed-rosenthal-90a07b186, as mentioned in the query.