KWS SAAT AG

KWS has been breeding crops for the moderate climatic zone for more than 150 years. The company is now one of the world’s leading seed producers.

In fiscal 2012/13, the KWS Group and its approximately 60 subsidiaries and associated companies generated net sales of over €1 Billion. It has some 4,400 employees (1,500 of them in Germany) and a footprint touching more than 70 countries.

Our core competence is crop breeding. Our annual expenses for R&D amount to around 15% of our net salest. As a result, KWS is able to provide farmers with almost 300 new, higher-yielding market approvals every year.

Our strengths are our close proximity to farmers, a broad portfolio of leading varieties, a strong brand and a strong sales presence.

All of KWS’ business activities are focused on providing modern agriculture with innovative varieties to grow feed and food and regenerative raw materials to produce renewable energies. Our goal is to supply products for all forms of agriculture: conventional, ecological and those using genetically optimized varieties.

Historically, our company’s success was founded on sugarbeet breeding. Today, our product portfolio includes many other crops: corn and cereals such as wheat, rye, barley, oats and triticales, as well as oil plants such as rapeseed, sunflower and soybean, pulses, catch crops, potatoes, energy plants and ecological seed.

Our growth is driven by our breeding work on these types of crops. As part of this, we also cooperate with other companies and research institutions by providing breeding services.

KWS is represented in all key markets with its own selection and testing locations. Our multiplication activities and seed processing plants are tailored to deliver top-quality seed for the crop in question.

At the end of these processes are people – consumers of food and users of bioenergy, which can be produced almost infinitely.

This key position in plant breeding means the company bears a special responsibility regarding the requirements for sustainable, environmentally friendly and resource-efficient agriculture, as well as for subsequent production steps. That is because the quality of seed has a crucial influence on yield, processing quality and production efficiency. By continuously improving seed quality, plant breeders lay the foundation for the successful cultivation of plants and their effective processing so that the desired end product can be achieved.