An Italian agricultural chemicals company is relocating its U.S. headquarters to Durham, where it expects to employ more than 30 by the end of 2009.
The Sipcam Agro USA headquarters will open Jan. 5 with 15 employees, most of whom were hired locally, said company spokeswoman Cathy Fuhrman. The Triangle labor pool was one of the reasons Sipcam moved its U.S. headquarters from Roswell, Ga., and the company plans to continue to recruit locally.
Five of the top eight agrochemical companies worldwide have U.S. headquarters or research and development facilities in the Triangle, an area better known for drug development. That's no coincidence. The agrochemical industry depends on some of the same scientific skills as pharmaceutical and biotech companies.
“It puts us right in the center,” Fuhrman said.
Sipcam Agro, which sells herbicides, pesticides and fungicides, and its two subsidies, Advan and Sostram, are part of the Sipcam/Oxon Group, which plans to more than double sales from $80 million to $200 million in the next five years. It markets to farmers, the pest control management industry and professional, ornamental and organic agriculture markets.
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