L. Daehnfeldt A/S, a leading European seed company, has appointed SeedWorks Company as its exclusive vegetable seed distributor in North America.

Daehnfeldt, with headquarters in Odense, Denmark, will celebrate its 150th anniversary in the year 2000. the company is owned by Emergent Genetics. It is a leader in the spinach and greenhouse cucumber markets and has a strong product line in carrots, herbs, cabbage and cauliflower.

Headquartered in Santa Barbara, California, SeedWorks will be Daehnfeldt's exclusive vegetable seed distributor for the U.S., Canada and Mexico. SeedWorks was co-founded in 1998 by Wand Partners, a New York-based investment company, and David Atkinson, former CEO of Sunseeds, who has 30 years of experience in international agriculture.

Atkinson is excited about the potential for marketing the Daehnfeldt vegetable seed product line in North America. "Our goal is to support the dealers and provide them with the latest product development and marketing tools to better meet the needs of growers," said Atkinson. "SeedWorks has the expertise and experience to effectively promote Daehnfeldt varieties in the important and competitive North American vegetable seed market."

Larry Kampa, Marketing Director of SeedWorks, is spearheading the promotion and marketing of the Daehnfeldt vegetable seed brand. He said his goal will be to increase awareness at the grower level as well as to coordinate new product introductions for a broad range of Daehnfeldt products that should fit well into the North American market.

"Their spinach, for example, gives growers added disease resistance and excellent quality for the rapidly expanding baby spinach market," said Kampa.

Povl Bauenbeck, Managing Director of Daehnfeldt, expressed satisfaction with the appointment of the SeedWorks team. "We have a lot of confidence in SeedWorks management and their ability to market the Daehnfeldt vegetable seed brand on our behalf, and we are supporting them with all our resources. North America is a very important market for us."

Daehnfeldt's outstanding North American flower seed brands will continue to be managed by its team in North Manchester, Indiana. The company's North American flower seed sales have grown dramatically in the last year, and Daehnfeldt enjoys a commanding market share in several crops. Joe Messer, President of Daehnfeldt, Inc. (U.S.), said: "We look forward to working with the professionals from SeedWorks to further build Daehnfeldt's reputation as a premier, worldwide genetics provider."

Direct inquiries on the Daehnfeldt vegetable seed product line for North America to Larry Kampa, SeedWorks. Tel: 805 969 1528 - Fax: 805 969 3419 - E-mail: lrworks@worldnet.att.net .

Direct inquiries concerning Daehnfeldt's flower seed product lines for North America to Russ Schroeder, Sales Manager. Tel: 219 982 7969 - Fax: 219 982 7970

Company news release
N2154