Limagrain opens a new branch in Kluisbergen, Belgium

Seed company Limagrain has just opened its new location in Kluisbergen, Belgium, with Mayor Philippe Willequet cutting the ribbon on June 1, and Minister of Agriculture Jo Brouns coming there a few days later to explore the new site.

The new 5,000 m² site is located on a 10,000 m² site on Avelgemstraat, where the Ruien power station used to be.

Limagrain Belgium has 35 employees. Most of them work in or from Kluisbergen. In addition, dozens of drivers from logistics partner Van Mieghem are deployed specifically for Limagrain.

″The new building offers more comfort, possibilities and safety than the previous location, thanks to the height of 12 m, a logical organization and better dust extraction. There are 1,078 solar panels on the roof, and the building has a heat pump,″ said Wannes Dermaut, Country Manager of Limagrain.

This Limagrain site has two mixing installations, two installations for bagging seeds and a new palletizer. Photo: FVDL

Grass and flowers

This Limagrain site has two mixing installations, two installations for bagging seeds and a new palletizer. In Kluisbergen, Limagrain mixes field flower mixtures, lawn seeds, dozens of green fodder mixtures (grass with clover, grass with legumes, etc.) and mixtures for green cover. Seeds for grains, sugar beet, maize, sunflowers, rapeseed or other products of the group are not mixed or packaged in Kluisbergen.

″Limagrain is a cooperative of 1,300 French farmers. With a turnover of more than 2 billion euros, it is the fourth largest seed company worldwide,″ said Jonathan Tann of Limagrain.

″As a company, Limagrain wants to respond to climate change with seeds from crops that are better able to withstand the heat and drought. We also try to respond to the criticism of overseas soy with crops that can offer an alternative in Europe. By making crops more resistant to more and more diseases, phyto use can be reduced,″ says Thomas Truyen, Marketing and Communication Manager of Limagrain Belgium.

Research and development

Worldwide, Limagrain has 61 research stations and about a thousand employees who are active in research and development (breeding, genotyping, …). Each year, more than 10% of sales go to research and development. As a result, the company brings about 200 new varieties to the market every year.

Of the 61 research stations, 27 are in Europe. These focus on maize, sunflowers, wheat, barley, protein crops and rapeseed. Eighty new varieties come onto the market each year, specifically for Europe.

Rilland and Tiegem

″One of Limagrain's most important research stations is located in Rilland, just across the border from Belgium in the Netherlands, where wheat and maize, among other things, are central. These are tested in conditions identical to those in Belgium.

Limagrain also has a research station in Tiegem, on the other side of the Scheldt if you look at it from the new location in Kluisbergen. All varieties developed specifically for the Belgian market are screened there.

Satellites track the corn

In 2024, Limagrain will introduce Agrility in the country, a platform with which corn fields can be followed by satellite, for those who sow on GPS. With data about the soil, advice can then be given, for example, to sow thicker, which is the best time for foliar fertilization or sprinkling. The application also helps to estimate the yield volume or to determine the ideal harvest moment during growth.