Vilmorin
Encyclopedia
Vilmorin is a French seed
producer. Along with its international subsidiaries, the company considers itself to be the fourth largest seed company in the world. The company has a long history in France
, where it was family-controlled for almost two centuries, and today exists as a publicly traded company owned principally by agro-industrial cooperative Groupe Limagrain
, the largest plant breeding and seed company in the European Union
.
. In 1774, their daughter married botany enthusiast Philippe-Victoire Levêque de Vilmorin (1746-1804). Together, they revived the stores and created the Vilmorin-Andrieux House, which later became Vilmorin-Andrieux and Company under the leadership of their son, Philippe André de Vilmorin
(1776-1862). Philippe-Victoire de Vilmorin began importing trees and exotic plants into Europe in 1766, starting with the American tulip tree
, the domesticated beet
, and the rutabaga
. Such plants were unknown in Europe prior to Vilmorin-Andrieux's commercial promotion of them for food, fodder and ornamentation.
The Vilmorin estate in the Paris suburb of Verrières-le-Buisson
, a former hunting lodge of Louis XIV of France
, became known for its gardens and arboretum, and the Vilmorin company was headquartered in Verrières-le-Buisson, where it was led by a succession of Vilmorin heirs, including Louis de Vilmorin
(1816-1860), Henry de Vilmorin (1843-1899), Maurice de Vilmorin (1849-1918), Philippe de Vilmorin
(1872-1917), Jacques de Vilmorin (1882-1933), Louis de Vilmorin (1883-1944), Louise de Vilmorin
(1902-1969), Olivier de Vilmorin (1904-1962), Roger de Vilmorin (1905-1980), and André de Vilmorin (1907-1987).
The company produced the first seed catalog for farmers and academics. In 1856, Louis de Vilmorin published "Note on the Creation of a New Race of Beetroot and Considerations on Heredity in Plants", establishing the theoretical groundwork for the modern seed-breeding industry. The company's leaders continued to publish numerous botanical academic articles throughout the company's early history.
In 1972 the company was acquired by René Hodée, a farmer from the Anjou region who relocated the company to La Ménitré
, a town to the southwest of Paris. Three years later, in 1975, he sold the company to Groupe Limagrain, which changed the name from Vilmorin-Andrieux to Vilmorin SA in 1986, and in 1989 created the Oxadis division to specialize in Vilmorin's home vegetable garden activities, including vegetable seeds, flowers and trees, plant health products, and various pet and garden supplies for the amateur market. Following this restructuring, Vilmorin focused on vegetable seeds and trees for professionals (growers, seed producers, and nurseries).
and its operations were eventually folded into the Vilmorin company in 1992. Following the acquisition in 1990 of Dutch seed producer Nickerson Seeds Company, Vilmorin took over the distribution of varieties of vegetables from Nickerson-Zwaan in France. In 1993, Vilmorin went public on the Paris Stock Exchange and acquired Suttons (U.K.) and 25 percent of Australia's Triagro. In 1997, Vilmorin acquired Clause Semense, Clause Jardin, and Harris-Moran Seed Company from Rhone Poulenc, and the distribution of Nickerson-Zwaan products was resumed by their subsidiaries in Italy, Spain and North America. Meanwhile, Vilmorin products were sold in Northern European markets through Nickerson-Zwaan and its subsidiaries. Vilmorin acquired a 12.6 percent stake in Israel
's Hazera Genetics (which itself has subsidiaries in Spain, China, and the U.S.) in 1998, and bought Japan
's Kyowa Seeds in 2000 and the Netherlands
' Keygene in 2001. In 2003 it boosted it share in Hazera to 55%, making it the world leader in the tomato seeds segment. In 2004 Vilmorin acquired Germany
's Sperling GmbH and established Marco Polo Seeds Thailand as a spearhead for future Southeast Asia expansion.
In 2006, after the integration of Limagrain's field seeds activity, the company changed names once again, this time simply to Vilmorin. The company also purchased Japan's Mikado Seed Growers in this year.
In 2007, the company acquired Turkey's Anadolu and China's LPHT, and in 2008, it bought a stake in Australia's Australian Grain Technologies.
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
producer. Along with its international subsidiaries, the company considers itself to be the fourth largest seed company in the world. The company has a long history in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, where it was family-controlled for almost two centuries, and today exists as a publicly traded company owned principally by agro-industrial cooperative Groupe Limagrain
Groupe Limagrain
Limagrain is an international agricultural co-operative group, specialized in field seeds, vegetable seeds and cereal products. Founded and managed by French farmers, Limagrain is the 4th largest seed company in the world through its holding Vilmorin & Cie, European leader for functional flours...
, the largest plant breeding and seed company in the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
.
History
Vilmorin was founded as a plant and seed boutique in 1742 by seed expert Claude Geoffroy and her husband Pierre Andrieux, the chief seed supplier and botanist to King Louis XV. The store was located on the quai de la Mégisserie, a street in the 1st arrondissement of ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. In 1774, their daughter married botany enthusiast Philippe-Victoire Levêque de Vilmorin (1746-1804). Together, they revived the stores and created the Vilmorin-Andrieux House, which later became Vilmorin-Andrieux and Company under the leadership of their son, Philippe André de Vilmorin
Philippe André de Vilmorin
Pierre-Philippe-André Levêque de Vilmorin , more commonly known as Philippe André de Vilmorin, was a notable French horticulturist....
(1776-1862). Philippe-Victoire de Vilmorin began importing trees and exotic plants into Europe in 1766, starting with the American tulip tree
Liriodendron tulipifera
Liriodendron tulipifera, commonly known as the tulip tree, American tulip tree, tuliptree, tulip poplar or yellow poplar, is the Western Hemisphere representative of the two-species genus Liriodendron, and the tallest eastern hardwood...
, the domesticated beet
Beet
The beet is a plant in the Chenopodiaceae family which is now included in Amaranthaceae family. It is best known in its numerous cultivated varieties, the most well known of which is the purple root vegetable known as the beetroot or garden beet...
, and the rutabaga
Rutabaga
The rutabaga, swede , turnip or yellow turnip is a root vegetable that originated as a cross between the cabbage and the turnip; see Triangle of U...
. Such plants were unknown in Europe prior to Vilmorin-Andrieux's commercial promotion of them for food, fodder and ornamentation.
The Vilmorin estate in the Paris suburb of Verrières-le-Buisson
Verrières-le-Buisson
Verrières-le-Buisson is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is from the center of Paris, in the Essonne department just outside the inner ring of the Île-de-France.The commune borders the Bièvre River....
, a former hunting lodge of Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
, became known for its gardens and arboretum, and the Vilmorin company was headquartered in Verrières-le-Buisson, where it was led by a succession of Vilmorin heirs, including Louis de Vilmorin
Louis de Vilmorin
Pierre Louis François Lévêque de Vilmorin , usually referred to as Louis de Vilmorin, the grandson of Philippe André de Vilmorin, and a member of the family firm of Vilmorin-Andrieux, devoted his life to biology and chemistry, with a focus on the breeding and cultivation of plants.Louis de Vilmorin...
(1816-1860), Henry de Vilmorin (1843-1899), Maurice de Vilmorin (1849-1918), Philippe de Vilmorin
Joseph-Marie-Philippe Lévêque de Vilmorin
Joseph-Marie-Philippe Lévêque de Vilmorin , generally known as Philippe de Vilmorin, was a noted French botanist and plant collector, and a member of the celebrated Vilmorin family of horticulturists....
(1872-1917), Jacques de Vilmorin (1882-1933), Louis de Vilmorin (1883-1944), Louise de Vilmorin
Louise Leveque de Vilmorin
Louise Lévêque de Vilmorin was a French novelist, poet and journalist.Born in the family château at Verrières-le-Buisson, Essonne, a suburb southwest of Paris, she was heir to a great French seed company fortune, that of Vilmorin. She was afflicted with a slight limp that became a personal trademark...
(1902-1969), Olivier de Vilmorin (1904-1962), Roger de Vilmorin (1905-1980), and André de Vilmorin (1907-1987).
The company produced the first seed catalog for farmers and academics. In 1856, Louis de Vilmorin published "Note on the Creation of a New Race of Beetroot and Considerations on Heredity in Plants", establishing the theoretical groundwork for the modern seed-breeding industry. The company's leaders continued to publish numerous botanical academic articles throughout the company's early history.
In 1972 the company was acquired by René Hodée, a farmer from the Anjou region who relocated the company to La Ménitré
La Ménitré
La Ménitré is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France.-References:...
, a town to the southwest of Paris. Three years later, in 1975, he sold the company to Groupe Limagrain, which changed the name from Vilmorin-Andrieux to Vilmorin SA in 1986, and in 1989 created the Oxadis division to specialize in Vilmorin's home vegetable garden activities, including vegetable seeds, flowers and trees, plant health products, and various pet and garden supplies for the amateur market. Following this restructuring, Vilmorin focused on vegetable seeds and trees for professionals (growers, seed producers, and nurseries).
Acquisitions
In 1981, Limagrain bought U.S. seed producer Ferry-Morse Co.Ferry-Morse Seed Company
The Ferry-Morse Seed Company is a supplier of seeds, and was at one time the largest such company in the world. It is currently part of Jiffy International.-D.M. Ferry & Co.:...
and its operations were eventually folded into the Vilmorin company in 1992. Following the acquisition in 1990 of Dutch seed producer Nickerson Seeds Company, Vilmorin took over the distribution of varieties of vegetables from Nickerson-Zwaan in France. In 1993, Vilmorin went public on the Paris Stock Exchange and acquired Suttons (U.K.) and 25 percent of Australia's Triagro. In 1997, Vilmorin acquired Clause Semense, Clause Jardin, and Harris-Moran Seed Company from Rhone Poulenc, and the distribution of Nickerson-Zwaan products was resumed by their subsidiaries in Italy, Spain and North America. Meanwhile, Vilmorin products were sold in Northern European markets through Nickerson-Zwaan and its subsidiaries. Vilmorin acquired a 12.6 percent stake in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
's Hazera Genetics (which itself has subsidiaries in Spain, China, and the U.S.) in 1998, and bought Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
's Kyowa Seeds in 2000 and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
' Keygene in 2001. In 2003 it boosted it share in Hazera to 55%, making it the world leader in the tomato seeds segment. In 2004 Vilmorin acquired Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
's Sperling GmbH and established Marco Polo Seeds Thailand as a spearhead for future Southeast Asia expansion.
In 2006, after the integration of Limagrain's field seeds activity, the company changed names once again, this time simply to Vilmorin. The company also purchased Japan's Mikado Seed Growers in this year.
In 2007, the company acquired Turkey's Anadolu and China's LPHT, and in 2008, it bought a stake in Australia's Australian Grain Technologies.