A CHEMICAL company has announced plans to invest millions of pounds at its Huddersfield works as part of a major expansion of its UK operations.
Syngenta said it would spend more than £100m on manufacturing and research and development over the next three years to allow the company to meet increasing demand for its crop protection products – as growers worldwide seek to increase yields.
Some £5m will be invested at Leeds Road, Huddersfield, on upgrading equipment used to make ingredients for Syngenta’s range of herbicides, fungicides and insecticides.
Another £65m will go to Grangemouth, Scotland, where the facility will be expanded over the next three years to increase production of ingredients used in Syngenta’s Amistar fungicide.
And £35m will be invested at the research and development centre in Berkshire, which focuses on developing new crop treatment products and product safety. The investment will help speed up the introduction of new products to Syngenta’s markets worldwide.
A spokesman said: “The investment in Huddersfield demonstrates that the site plays a major role in increasing food production. It is a great vote of confidence in the Huddersfield works.”
The company said the investments would strengthen Syngenta’s position as one of the country’s 25 largest investors in research and development while underlining its contribution to UK manufacturing and exports.
Mark Peacock, head of global operations, said: “World food supply needs to increase by 50% over the next 20 years if growing demand is to be met. The use of crop protection products is an immediate and sustainable way to increase agricultural productivity.
“This announcement will enable Syngenta and the UK to play a leading role in providing growers around the world with the tools they need to protect and improve yield.”
Syngenta employs some 21,000 people in more than 90 countries.
