Australia: Heritage Seeds to be known as Barenbrug

One of Australia’s largest seed companies is changing names, with Heritage Seeds to be known as Barenbrug from 28th October 2019.

The name change to Barenbrug will bring Heritage Seeds in line with parent company The Royal Barenbrug Group, who part-owned Heritage Seeds from its inception in 1990 and have fully-owned Heritage Seeds since 1996.

The Royal Barenbrug Group operates globally with headquarters in The Netherlands and is recognised as the leading worldwide creator of forage and turf solutions. It has 18 operating companies and 22 research and development locations, creating grasses for different purposes in all major climate zones.

Barenbrug Managing Director Toby Brown said Barenbrug would provide the same service and products as Heritage Seeds, while embracing the 114 years of experience of its parent company and enjoying the advantage of its global network.

“Nothing changes but the name,” he said. “We have a strong history with Barenbrug and the fourth- generation family business is well known globally so it will be a great advantage to strengthen that connection to Australia.

Toby said it is an exciting time for the company as the name change coincides with the opening of a new $15-million warehouse facility in Toowoomba.

“Supporting growth into northern Australia forms an important part of our strategic direction,” Toby said.

“We believe there is a significant opportunity to increase engagement and support northern growers, so we’ve designed a new Toowoomba facility with capacity to expand as needed,” he said.

Toby said the existing company structure and staff would continue. The company employs 110 people with representation across the country.

“We have been and will continue to invest in research and development to produce solutions for Australian conditions” Toby said.