DuPont Pioneer opens new Canadian seed facility

DuPont Pioneer celebrated the start-up of its new $15 million parent seed production facility near Wingham, Ontario.

Ian Grant, president, DuPont Pioneer in Canada, indicated at the event that the opening of the Wingham Parent Seed Plant is a prime example of the investment Pioneer is making to continue producing products that meet the needs of today's farmers.

"Over the last five years, DuPont Pioneer has more than doubled the size of its workforce and its business in Canada," said Grant. "That degree of growth necessitates significant investment in infrastructure, including a $55 million combined investment in Canadian research and production facilities since 2008.

"DuPont Pioneer is pleased to expand its Canadian footprint and become a new corporate citizen of the Wingham community," Grant added.

The 50,000-square-foot plant features a cold storage warehouse, state-of-the-art automated seed cleaning and treating equipment, and a controlled dense-phase pneumatic seed conveying system to maintain the highest seed quality. It is primarily focused on the production of parent canola seed, but it can also handle the conditioning and treating of parent soybeans.

Product from the Wingham Parent Seed Plant is shipped to Pioneer locations across Canada and around the world.

Dignitaries in attendance at the grand opening, including Mike Oxley, president and chief financial officer of DuPont Canada; Paul Gowing, Mayor, Municipality of Morris-Turnberry; and, Lisa Thompson, MPP, Huron-Bruce participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony. In addition, Pioneer hosted visitors of the recently-completed facility with guided tours of the production process and for lunch.