Golden Valley, Minnesota
February 27, 2007
Syngenta announced today that it is launching capital
improvements totaling over $25 million to significantly expand
capacity at six of its Midwest corn and soybean seed supply
centers. The seed supply facilities to be expanded are located
in Jefferson, Iowa; Lone Tree Iowa; Pekin, Ill.; Phillips, Neb.;
Tuscola, Ill.; and Waterloo, Neb.
The expansion projects are part of a multi-year capital
investment program planned for Syngenta corn and soybean seed
plants throughout the country. The current expansion follows the
addition of several projects completed in the last year,
including a high-capacity seed customization and distribution
warehouse at Clinton, Ill., which tripled the amount of seed
prepared, packaged and shipped for growers in the eastern corn
belt this season.
“Our branded seed businesses of Garst, Golden Harvest and NK®
Brand are all experiencing higher demand for their corn hybrids
this year, and we anticipate corn demand to continue growing,”
said Mike Hollands, vice president of the Syngenta corn and
soybean seed supply chain, Golden Valley, Minn. “We are growing
our soybean business as well. So, beginning next fall, we will
be conditioning much larger volumes of seed at these strategic
locations, significantly enhancing our ability to ship larger
volumes to more customers in a timely manner,” Hollands said.
The facility upgrades scheduled at Jefferson, Tuscola and Pekin
will enable Syngenta to process and ship 50 percent more soybean
seed at these facilities next season. With more growers
preferring to purchase soybean seed in bulk and treated with
CruiserMaxxTM Beans seed treatments, the improvements will
facilitate state-of- the-art treatment capabilities, as well as
loading and shipping of large bulk containers.
The Syngenta corn seed facilities at Lone Tree, Phillips,
Waterloo and Pekin will experience upgrades in drying,
conditioning, bulk storage and warehouse capacity. The 2007
investments will be the first of several planned investments
resulting in state-of-the-industry facilities, some of which
will be capable of conditioning and shipping up to a million
bags of corn per season, up to twice current capacity. “These
supply facility improvements will enable us to accommodate much
larger volumes in response to growers needs at these strategic
locations. We will have the capacity to fulfill larger orders
for our seed dealers and their customers, as well as to ship
seed more efficiently than ever before,” Hollands said.
The capital improvements will begin this spring after seed
shipments for 2007 planting are complete. The work is expected
to be finished by the end of 2007 in order to accommodate
customer orders for 2008.
Syngenta has a total of 19 corn and soybean seed supply
facilities throughout the United States and Canada.
Syngenta is a world-leading agribusiness committed to
sustainable agriculture through innovative research and
technology. The company is a leader in crop protection, and
ranks third in the high-value commercial seeds market. Sales in
2006 were approximately $8.1 billion. Syngenta employs around
19,500 people in over 90 countries. Syngenta is listed on the
Swiss stock exchange (SYNN) and in New York (SYT). Further
information is available at
www.syngenta.com.
A CruiserMaxx™ Bean product is a combination of separately
registered products containing the following: one or more
separately registered products or combination of products
containing the following: Cruiser®, Maxim® and Apron® XL; and an
ApronMaxx® brand fungicide.
NK®, CruiserMaxx™, Cruiser®, Maxim®, Apron®, ApronMaxx® and the
Syngenta logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of a
Syngenta Group Company. |
|
