Eskişehir, Salihli-Manisa and Antalya in Türkiye

Division of labor

KWS has seed production and processing in sugarbeet, corn, oilseed rape and sunflower in Türkiye. Breeding of vegetables has started as well.

KWS began its activities in Türkiye as Kleinwanzleben SEED in 1933 to supply the first state-owned sugarbeet factories. In 1956, Türkiye’s first private seed company, Pan Tohum, was established in cooperation with KWS and TÜRKŞEKER. KWS Türk was founded in 2003. A corn production and packing facility was established in Salihli-Manisa in 2009, as was a drying and pre-cleaning facility with 16 chambers and 480 tons of capacity in Eskişehir in 2013. In 2021, sunflower sales entered the market. “As KWS TÜRK, we have been producing top-quality seeds for Turkish farmers since 1933,” explains marketing expert Aslı Sila Gürün.

Eskişehir

The main site is in Eskişehir, where KWS TÜRK’s head office is located. Eskişehir is an industrial and commercial city and is well known for its three universities. KWS TÜRK has a total area of 40,000 square meters there, with 300,000 units of sugarbeet seed production capacity per year on 9,000 square meters in a sugarbeet seed processing plant. A corn seed processing, drying and pre-cleaning plant has a 275,000 unit corn seed production capacity on a total area of 8,000 square meters, and the rest of the area includes greenhouses, the laboratory and office space.

Salihli Manisa

A second site is in Salihli-Manisa, in the west of the country. Corn seed is also processed there. The total area is 16,000 square meters. It has a drying and pre-cleaning capacity of 160,000 units as well as calibrating and treatment and bagging capacity of 270,000 units for corn seed. In addition, up to 500,000 units are produced with a third-party company.

Antalya

The third site is in Antalya in the south of the country. It’s the vegetable seed breeding station as well as the location of our administration office. Today, breeding activities are carried out for tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. The total area is 38,117 square meters, including the greenhouse area, which covers 27,362 square meters.

1 2 3

Trial fields in 32 different locations

“We conduct our own research and development in Türkiye; new and standard corn hybrids come from different breeding locations,” says Aslı Gürün. Trial fields in Türkiye are in 32 different locations, while hybrid tests of yield potential, adaptation and disease tolerance are carried out before seed is used in production at the company’s own seed processing plant following successful registration.

Sugarbeet hybrids come from Germany, with trials at one station, seven different locations and 7,000 plots. Hybrid tests for drought tolerance, Fusarium tolerance, CS and leaf observation are carried out as well. The company’s own seed processing plant then takes on the seed following successful registration.

Apart from the two main crops, sugarbeet and corn, KWS’ portfolio in Türkiye also includes oilseed rape, sunflowers and the recent addition of vegetables. Corn seed is produced for Germany, Italy, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and many other countries, as well as for the domestic market. “Also, KWS TÜRK is the market leader for sugarbeet, with more than 75% of the market,” says Aslı Gürün.

Aslı Gürün has been with KWS TÜRK since 2018 – and calls the site in KWS TÜRK a “wonderful place to work.” She enjoys working with colleagues in the lovely office with its orange decoration in Eskişehir. |