Lone Tree, Iowa
December 19, 2007
A leading global agribusiness company, headquartered
in Golden Valley, Minnesota, is considering a major expansion
project in Johnson County.
Syngenta Seeds, Inc. is planning a $34 million capital
investment project to construct a new 200,000-square foot
facility and add equipment to its corn seed production plant
located east of Lone Tree on Highway 22.
The expansion will nearly double seed production capacity at
Lone Tree, where Syngenta will produce approximately 864,000
bags of seed annually for Garst®, Golden Harvest® and NK®. The
seed Syngenta produces at its Lone Tree facility will plant
approximately 2.5 million acres of corn.
The project plans include a new facility for husking and seed
sorting, load-out of cobs and chopped materials, a new building
for shelling and pre-cleaning of seed and two 30,000-bushel seed
dryers.
The project is expected to be completed by September 2008.
The investment will add six new full-time positions with an
average wage and benefits in excess of $27 an hour.
Herb Peacock, senior project manager with Syngenta, said, "This
major expansion will make our plant more efficient and increase
our ability to get larger volumes of new products to our
customers in a timely manner. Iowa farmers are planting record
amounts of corn to fulfill growing demand driven by growth of
the ethanol industry, and Syngenta continues to make investments
such as the Lone Tree expansion to help corn growers be more
productive."
Pat Harney, chair of the Johnson County Board of Supervisors,
said Syngenta has an excellent reputation as a leader in
agriculture. "We’re pleased the company selected our central
location for expansion."
Johnson County adopted a resolution in support of the project
and approved a five-year sliding scale Industrial Property Tax
Exemption of more than $150,000.
The company has requested state assistance from the High Quality
Jobs Creation (HQJC) program, which provides a doubling of the
Research and Development Tax Credit limited to $450,000.
Syngenta Seeds is also working with Kirkwood Community College
to develop training programs through the Iowa Industrial New
Jobs Training Program, which enables companies to use employee
payroll withholdings to fund training programs.
Joe Raso, president of the Iowa City Area Development Group,
said the project is a good fit for the Corridor and for Johnson
County. The state is the largest producer of corn in the U.S.
"Expanding our agribusiness is good for the region and good for
the state. Syngenta is a world-leading agribusiness committed to
sustainable agriculture through innovative research and
technology. The company has 11 Iowa facilities that employ 335
full-time and nearly 140 part-time employees."
Iowa City Area Development Group, Johnson County and the Iowa
Department of Economic Development worked to assist the Syngenta
Seeds manufacturing expansion operation project.
NK® is a registered trademark 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.
NK is a business unit of Syngenta Seeds, Inc.
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 some
19,500 people in more than 90 countries. Syngenta is listed on
the Swiss stock exchange (SYNN) and in New York (SYT).
Additional information is available at
www.syngenta.com.
SOURCE: Iowa City Area Development Group, 325 E. Washington
Street – Suite 101, Iowa City, Iowa, 52240. |
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