From Wikipedia,
the free encyclopedia.
Syngenta AG is a
world-leading
agribusiness committed to
sustainable agriculture through
innovative research and
technology. The company is a
leader in crop protection, and
ranks third in the high-value
commercial seeds market. Sales in
2004 were approximately US$ 7.3
billion. Syngenta employs some
19,000 people in over 90
countries. Syngenta is listed on
the Swiss stock exchange (SWX:
SYNN) and in New York
NYSE:
SYT.
The company was formed in
2000 by the merger of
Novartis and
AstraZeneca's agribusiness
divisions and has its headquarters
in
Basel
Switzerland.
Syngenta has seven product lines.
The company develops, markets and
sells these worldwide:
•Crop Protection: Selective
Herbicides, Non-selective
Herbicides, Fungicides,
Insecticides, Professional
Products
•Seeds: Field Crops, Vegetables
& Flowers
In 2003, more than half of
Syngenta sales came from selective
herbicides and fungicides.
Key Syngenta brands include
Actara, Amistar, Callisto,
Cruiser, DualGold, NK, S&G, and
Gramoxone. In 2004, Syngenta Seeds
purchased the North American corn
and soybean business of Advanta,
as well as Garst and Golden
Harvest.
Syngenta is publicly committed
to sustainable agriculture.
Alongside its own activities in
this area, the company also
finances the Syngenta Foundation
for Sustainable Agriculture. This
non-profit organization supports
sustainable food security projects
in a number of countries.
Development and marketing of
pesticides and some genetically
modified seed have made Syngenta a
target of environmental and human
safety activists. This is also
true of its main competitors:
Monsanto, BASF, Bayer and DuPont.
Board of Directors
Syngenta is led by Chairman Martin
Taylor. The other Directors are
Peggy Bruzelius, Peter Doyle,
Rupert Gasser, Pierre Landolt,
Pedro Reiser, Peter Thompson, Rolf
Watter, Felix Weber and CEO
Michael Pragnell.
History Based in Basel,
Switzerland, Syngenta was formed
in 2000 by the merger of Novartis
Agribusiness and Zeneca
Agrochemicals. Its roots are
considerably older.
In 1758 the city’s Johann
Rudolf Geigy-Gemuseus began
trading in “Materials, Chemicals,
Dyes and Drugs of all kinds”. In
1876, Sandoz began business in
Basel, followed in 1884 by Ciba.
These three companies ultimately
became Novartis in 1995.
Ciba-Geigy, formed in 1971, had
concentrated mainly on crop
protection in its agro division,
Sandoz more on seeds.
Zeneca Agrochemicals was part
of AstraZeneca, and formerly of
Imperial Chemical Industries. ICI
was formed in the UK in 1926. Two
years later, work began at the
Agricultural Research Station at
Jealott’s Hill.
Legal Issues Like other
global chemical and biotech
companies, Syngenta and its
predecessor companies have been
involved in numerous legal actions
over the years. Syngenta has, for
example, used the courts to defend
its intellectual property and
perceived right to free trade.
Syngenta declares a policy of not
exercising its patents in seeds
and biotechnology in the least
developing countries.
In 2001, the US Patent and
Trademark Office ruled in favor of
Syngenta when the company filed
suit against Bayer to protect its
patent on a class of neonicotinoid
insecticides. In 2002, Syngenta
filed suit against Monsanto and a
number of other companies claiming
infringement of its US
biotechnology patents covering
transgenic corn and cotton. In
2004, the company again filed suit
against Monsanto, claiming
antitrust violations related to
the US biotech corn seed market.
The Syngenta legal record also
includes citations by regulators,
NGOs, and individuals for health
issues related to its products.
Following a series of
fatalities due to accidental
consumption in the 1960s, the
company’s herbicide, Gramoxone® (Paraquat),
gained notoriety in the 1970s and
80s due to a rash of suicides
using the product. On review, the
World Health Organization (WHO)
and other regulators deemed the
product safe. However, Syngenta
added a blue dye, a foul odor, and
a powerful vomit-inducer to
Gramoxone to help prevent mistakes
and misuse.
The company has also faced
questions on its Galecron
insecticide’s possible
relationship to bladder cancer and
other illnesses. Production of
Galecron stopped between 1976 and
1978 for new safety assessments,
and then halted permanently in
1988 after more research showed
potential risk. The company was
never found guilty of wrong-doing.
In a 1995 class action in the US,
Ciba-Geigy agreed to cover costs
for employee health monitoring and
treatment.
