VILMORIN-MKS, a new globale dimension

On the 1st of July 2016, Vilmorin S.A., French seed company, and Mikado Kyowa Seed Co.Ltd, Japanese seed company, created a new business unit within the Limagrain group*: Vilmorin-MKS. The implementation of this shared strategy was driven by numerous complementarities and fifteen years of highly successful collaboration.

The operational merger is the result of strategic initiatives taken by Limagrain Vegetable Seeds aiming at accelerating the group's growth in Asia. According to Damien Bourgarel, CEO of Limagrain Vegetable Seeds, "this partnership must enable both entities to reach the critical size required for their respective development and allowing their implantation on the Asian continent". The management of this new Business Unit is entrusted to Rodolphe Millet (CEO and former CEO of Vilmorin) and Vincent Supiot (deputy CEO and former CEO of Mikado Kyowa Seed).

Thanks to the solid bases and networks of Mikado Kyowa Seed in Asia and Vilmorin's strong international position, Vilmorin-MKS extends its presence to the five continents. Implanted in 12 countries, and with two strong business brands (Vilmorin and Mikado Kyowa Seed), Vilmorin-MKS reinforces its positions and market-proximity.

Vilmorin-MKS provides the stakeholders of the vegetable sector with a wide, unique, and original range of innovating and high-quality products. It also includes strategic species, such as carrot, witloof chicory, lettuce, tomato, pepper, kabocha squash, daikon radish and bunching onion.

"The history of collaboration between these two companies has led to teams that know each other very well. They share the same entrepreneurial spirit and values of audacity and excellence" explains Rodolphe Millet, CEO of Vilmorin-MKS. "This merger is a unique and tremendous opportunity to build a seed company with a global reach and whose roots are both in France and Japan. Relying on this diversity, Vilmorin-MKS will continue working on market-, customer- and employee-proximity. "

Vilmorin-MKS

Key figures

STAFF: 1000 employees

TURNOVER 15/16: 224.2 million Euros

% of TURNOVER used for research: 16%

CEO: Rodolphe Millet

2 HEADQUARTERS:

- La Ménitré (Maine et Loire, France)

- Toke (Tokyo region, Japan)

LOCATIONS: 12 countries

(France, Japan, USA, Mexico, Brazil, Morocco, Spain, Italy, Russia, Turkey, China, Korea).



Historical markers

1743: Creation of Vilmorin

1850: Creation of Maruasa Koshibe Asagro, which will later become Mikado Seed Growers

1951: Creation of Magoshi Seed, which will become Kyowa Seed

1975: Limagrain acquires Vilmorin

1991: Limagrain is integrated in the capital of Japanese seed supplier Mikado Seed Growers

2000: Limagrain is integrated in the capital of Japanese seed supplier Kyowa Seed

2000: First cooperation between Vilmorin and Mikado Seed Growers in research, with the selection of co-hybrid varieties, followed by collaborations in the fields of marketing, seed production...

2007: Creation of Mikado Kyowa Seed, subsidiary of Limagrain resulting from the merger of Mikado Seed Growers and Kyowa Seed.

2011: Distribution of the Vilmorin range in China by Dalian Mikado, subsidiary of Mikado Kyowa Seed.

2016: Operational merger between Vilmorin and Mikado Kyowa Seed and creation of the Vimorin-MKS Business Unit.