April 19, 2011

 

Syngenta begins North Carolina expansion

 

 

Syngenta, a Switzerland-based company, recently filed a permit to construct 147,000 square feet of greenhouse, laboratory and office space in Research Triangle Park on Davis Drive.

 

But that doesn't mean that the project is a done deal, spokesman Steven Goldsmith said.

 

That's certainly the hope local executives harbor, but a decision hasn't yet been made to go ahead with such a project, Goldsmith said. Syngenta is considering sites in other countries as well

 

But Syngenta decided to go ahead and seek a permit so construction could begin that much sooner if the project gets the green light and if RTP comes out on top in the site-selection process, Goldsmith said. A decision is likely later this year.

 

Syngenta Biotechnology, the company's biotech research arm, is headquartered in RTP, where it has about 400 workers. The company also has about 600 workers in Greensboro, site of its headquarters for its North American crop protection business. The crop protection division makes fungicides, herbicides and insecticides.

 

In 2009, Syngenta paid US$10.7 million for the 50-acre Davis Drive site, next to its complex on Cornwallis Road, and a 110,000-square-foot building with an eye toward future expansion. The company subsequently tore down the building.

 

Syngenta also is looking at expanding through acquisitions.

 

On Friday, the company's chief financial officer, John Ramsay, told Bloomberg News that the company is maintaining a strong balance sheet – it currently has US$2 billion in cash – with an eye toward acquisitions of all sizes.

 

"The bigger ones are more difficult to [pry] loose," Ramsay said. "In crop protection, because of the size of the major players now, it is quite difficult from a competition point of view to see major moves. "But we're very much keeping a strong balance sheet should the opportunities present themselves."

 

Syngenta said in February that it was merging its seeds and crop protection businesses, which is expected eventually to generate US$650 million in annual savings.

 

Syngenta said Friday that first-quarter sales rose 14% to US$4.02 billion, which topped analysts' estimates. Revenue rose 13% after adjusting for currency fluctuations.

 

The company didn't disclose net income figures for the quarter. Sales of crop protection products rose 10%, while seed sales jumped 20%.