History

One century of successful breeding

Hilleshög’s North American operations

The roots of Hilleshög® brand of sugar beet seed in North America were firmly entrenched with the purchase of the Great Western Sugar breeding program in 1985.  Great Western established the Agricultural Research Center in Longmont, CO in 1910, making the research center one of the first private agricultural research facilities in the United States.  The primary goal of the research center was to provide seed to growers adapted to the local growing conditions.  Great Western launched the ‘Mono-Hy’ brand of sugar beet seed in the late 1960’s and the brand became synonymous with high quality, locally adapted monogerm sugar beet seed.  Breeding efforts were expanded to cover all growing areas of North America and the germplasm pool benefited from the increased effort.

In 1990, Hilleshög purchased the assets of the Amalgamated Sugar Co. breeding program to further enhance Hilleshög’s position as a leading supplier of adapted germplasm in North America.  Amalgamated established their breeding program in the 1930’s to address the severe Curly Top virus problem in the western US growing area.  Amalgamated successfully addressed the Curly Top problem and marketed seed under their ‘White Satin’ brand.  The combination of the germplasm pools has enabled Hilleshög to continue to develop high yielding, disease resistant varieties that growers throughout North America have learned to rely on for consistent results year in and year out.

Hilleshög’s worldwide history: from a small Swedish village to global presence

The process of merging several Swedish sugar factories in 1907 also generated the start of a comprehensive breeding program on sugar beets.  The breeding was located in the small village of Hilleshög in the southern part of Sweden.  The breeding target was to develop sugar beet varieties adapted to Swedish conditions.  By the 1920’s the needs of the restricted Swedish market were covered but export possibilities appeared for the Hilleshög seed.  In order to come closer to the foreign markets, a daughter company was founded in the Netherlands in 1924. This became a turning point in the history of Hilleshög - from the role of local Swedish supplier of sugar beet seed to a presence on the European scene.  From this date on, the company increased its presence across sugar beet markets in Europe and eventually to all global markets.

First, genetic monogerm variety

In 1966, Hilleshög made a major step in genetic improvement of sugar beets by introducing the first genetic monogerm variety and combining monogermity with high yield.  This improvement drastically changed the management of the crop and the new variety - Monohill - made it possible for the grower to drill to a stand.  As a result, the labor intense singling work disappeared.  The new drilling technique meant very high demands on good, quality seed.  A major step in the aim of achieving the best   possible seed quality was to move the seed production from Sweden to France and Italy.  Monohill was very successful and   kept its popularity for more than two decades.

From a sugar company to an agribusiness company

Hilleshög was part of the Swedish sugar company until 1968.  It then became an independent company but retained its close links to the sugar company.  In 1986 Volvo, a Swedish car company, purchased Hilleshög.  Three years later Hilleshög was sold to the Swiss pharmaceutical company Sandoz.  This move placed Hilleshög as one of the leading seed companies in the world, encompassing a wide array of crops and developing the breeding tools of the future.  Since 2001, Hilleshög is the sugar beet brand of Syngenta, a global company fully dedicated to agriculture through its Plant Protection, Seeds, and Plant Science divisions and serving farmers throughout the world.

Supplier to growers around the world

In the last twenty years Hilleshög has extended its activity to all major sugar beet areas, e.g. USA, Central Europe, Russia, China.  Along with more and more elaborate traditional breeding methods, a number of new molecular breeding tools have been developed in order to speed up breeding progress.
Today Syngenta's Hilleshög brand ranks No. 2 in the global sugar beet seeds market, and Hilleshög varieties are used on more than 2.4 million acres each year.

Striving for success of the sugar beet crop

Global sugar consumption grows at about 3% per year.  In order to compete successfully with sugar cane for a share of that growth, the sugar beet crop needs to improve its efficiency in production, show its contribution to sustainable farming, and supply consumers with a quality product.  At Syngenta, we are convinced that breeding will play a major role in creating the future of the crop, and we are a dedicated contributor to the success of the crop.