Waterloo, Nebraska
August 29, 2008
Almost 400
Syngenta Seeds, Inc.
employees, community leaders and their families gathered on
Tuesday, August 26 at the company’s Waterloo, Nebraska corn
production facility to celebrate its expansion. Syngenta Seeds
is increasing the size of the state-of-the-art facility by 38%
from 625,000 to 864,000 units annually. Construction began in
October of 2007 and completion of the project is expected August
29, 2008.
Syngenta Seeds is upgrading the Waterloo facility to meet the
anticipated demand for hybrids with Agrisure™ traits marketed
through the Syngenta seed brands of Garst®, Golden Harvest® and
NK®. Syngenta Seeds is a division of Switzerland-based Syngenta,
a world-leading agribusiness committed to sustainable
agriculture through innovative research and technology.
“This expansion represents our commitment to innovation and
excellence,” said Todd Taylor, plant manager. “The new,
state-of-the-art technology will increase production and enable
Syngenta to provide growers with what they need to meet feed,
food and fuel demands.”
The event kicked-off with welcome remarks by Taylor, Ginger
Langemeier, Assistant Director of the Nebraska Department of
Agriculture, Stan Benke, Waterloo Village board chairman, and
Ron Schultz, board member for the Nebraska Corn Growers
Association. Ken Nielsen, head of internal corn operations at
Syngenta, also made remarks. All then took part in a ribbon
cutting ceremony at the facility’s entrance.
Syngenta then treated guests to a 20-minute trolley tour of the
facility, giving them a first-hand look at new features,
including:
• Two new driers
• New/Updated husk and sort building
• Two new receiving areas
• 120,000 Bushel bulk storage addition
“A first-class company such as
Syngenta Seeds is a real asset to Waterloo. Syngenta is a solid
economic business anchor for Waterloo’s future growth,” said
Stan Benke, Waterloo Village board chairman.
After the tours, Syngenta thanked employees and the community
with a catered meal. A balloon-animal artist and an air-brush
artist entertained the children.
“We want to thank the community for its support of this
expansion,” continued Taylor. “We are proud of this facility and
of the improvements the expansion will bring to our production
capabilities.”
Total capital expenditure on the Waterloo expansion is estimated
at more than $17.6 million, which includes the facility and site
work, land and equipment. The facility has more than 36
full-time employees and last year had close to 200 contracted
seasonal staff. With the expansion, Syngenta anticipates it will
hire six additional full time employees and up to 60-80
part-time employees and will likely engage more than 1,200
individuals for the detassling season.
Committed to the health and safety of its employees and
communities, Syngenta incorporated innovative applications of
state-of-the-art technology in the expansion like dust control,
traffic control and noise reduction to promote a clean plant
environment. The ability to more closely track product through
the plant will speed the production process. The facility will
produce 100 hybrids per season, up from approximately 75.
Waterloo is one of four seed production facility improvement
projects for Syngenta in the Midwest, and one of seven corn seed
production facilities in the U.S. During 2007 and 2008, Syngenta
has invested more than $57 million to increase capacity of its
Waterloo, Nebraska; Lone Tree, Iowa; Tuscola, Illinois and
Jefferson, Iowa facilities.
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
2007 were approximately $9.2 billion. Syngenta employs over
21,000 people in more than 90 countries. Syngenta is listed on
the Swiss stock exchange (SYNN) and in New York (SYT).
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
2007 were approximately $9.2 billion. Syngenta employs over
21,000 people in more than 90 countries. Syngenta is listed on
the Swiss stock exchange (SYNN) and in New York (SYT). Further
information is available at
www.syngenta.com.
NK® and the Syngenta logo are registered trademarks of a
Syngenta Group Company.
Garst® is a registered trademark of Garst Seed Company.
Golden Harvest® is a registered trademark of Golden Harvest
Seeds, Inc. |
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