HM.CLAUSE establishes new production facility in Kenya

HM.CLAUSE celebrated the inauguration of its new home farm in Nanyuki, Kenya on April 15, 2015 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The new subsidiary, HM.CLAUSE Kenya Ltd, will be dedicated mainly to indeterminate tomato seed production. The facility is HM.CLAUSE’s eighth home farm globally, and their second subsidiary on the African continent. The first African subsidiary, HM.CLAUSE Maghreb, opened in 2008 and has operations in Morocco and Algeria.

“The establishment of this facility not only strengthens our leading position on the global tomato seed market, but also reinforces our commitment to conducting our global business on a local scale,” said Franck Berger, Deputy CEO.

Nanyuki is located on the equator at an elevation of approximately 2,000 meters (6,562 feet) where long days and temperate weather provide ideal conditions for year-round vegetable seed production. Since selecting Nanyuki in November 2013, HM.CLAUSE has invested €1.3 million developing the site, which includes the construction of three hectares of greenhouses and more than 1200 square meters of warehouse and office space. The greenhouses are equipped with a rain catchment and storage system to increase the water supply for on-farm irrigation. The site also has additional land and water storage capacity that will allow production output to increase in line with expectations. “The extremely favorable conditions for horticultural activities in this region represent a new area of growth for the future of HM.CLAUSE,” said Ghis Reusken, Global Head of Supply Chain.