Syngenta Opens New Vegetable Seed Processing Facility

By Growing Produce Staff|November 3, 2009

Last week, Syngenta Seeds opened its Pasco, WA, vegetable seed processing facility. The facility is located on approximately 40 acres of land and is designed and equipped with new high-technology equipment to process vegetable seeds. Construction began in June 2008 and the facility became fully operational last month. Syngenta employs approximately 30 full-time employees at the site and more than 100 seasonal employees during the sweet corn harvest season.

Syngenta Seeds constructed the Pasco seed processing facility to meet the anticipated long-term global customer demand for high-quality vegetable seeds. The facility provides seeds including sweet corn, tomatoes, watermelons, peppers, squash, melons, and broccoli from this new location.

“Building the Pasco seed processing facility is well aligned with Syngenta’s global strategy to focus on high quality, differentiated vegetable seed products,” said Tim Primus, head of the supply chain for Syngenta Seeds in North America and site project leader. “The state-of-the-art technology in the facility provides a significant improvement in seed processing capabilities, which underscores our commitment to providing our customers with the highest quality products possible.”

After the opening presentation last week, Syngenta hosted a tour of the facility, giving attendees a first-hand look at the new facility and technology, including:

Sweet corn dryer which comprises 36 drying bins of different sizes. The bins can be individually configured to exact drying parameters to optimize the high quality of the sweet corn seed and to meet the specific genetic drying sensitivity needs of each variety.
More than 30,000 square feet of conditioned warehouse that provides control over the atmosphere — a major benefit when summer temperatures reach 100°F / 38°C. Seeds are living things, so the conditions in which they are stored play a large role in maintaining their quality level.

“The efficiencies and quality of this new plant are consistent with our commitment to growers around the world and to achieving the highest quality products,” said Dan Burdett, head of the vegetables business for Syngenta Seeds in North America. “The grand opening of our new facility is meant to celebrate our success and thank the Pasco community, our customers, and employees for their continued support.”