St. Louis, USA
At the cutting edge of research
Construction of the KWS Gateway Research Center began in St. Louis, in the Corn Belt of the Midwest of the U.S., in 2014 and it commenced its work a year later.
In the right environment: The KWS Gateway Research Center is located in the Bio Research & Development Growth (BRDG) Park in order to foster dialogue and interaction between scientists.
The Gateway Arch in St. Louis stands as a symbol of when settlers set off to win the west 200 years ago. St. Louis was once the central starting point for that, which is why the city is called the “Gateway to the West.” KWS, too, symbolically went west with the establishment of its second research center alongside Einbeck, hence the name KWS Gateway Research Center.
The KWS Gateway Research Center (GRC) in St. Louis in the U.S. state of Missouri is located on the Danforth Plant Science Center Campus of the Bio Research & Development Growth (BRDG) Park. Its proximity to various institutes in the research park fosters interaction between top scientists from different industries and companies.
Science, innovation and technology are at the heart of the KWS Gateway Research Center’s work. Our colleagues there work on innovative improvements to plant genomes so as to advance research and breeding. Last year’s progress in discovering insect resistance traits in oilseed rape, genome editing in cereals and corn, and special cell technologies for doubled haploid and hybrid production are paving the way for a new generation of tools to support product development.
The research locations in Einbeck and St. Louis work hand in hand, complement each other and collaborate on various projects. KWS consciously chose the GRC’s location, since a large research community from the field of life sciences has become established in St. Louis. Thanks to its presence at this research hotspot, KWS can attract attention, find new talents and inspire them to work at the GRC. The workforce at the KWS GRC has now grown to 40 colleagues. It is a diverse, international team that identifies with the values of our KWS and does its part to help KWS achieve its ambitious goals in the field of research and development. |
Number of employees: 40
Size: ~3,600 m², ~2,400 m² of culture rooms, ~1,200 m² of offices
In operation since: 2015
Activities: Support for various R&D groups and molecular breeders in gene validation by means of genome editing (GenEd), for example to develop traits against abiotic and biotic stress factors; GenEd as a service in corn and oilseed rape as well as GenEd technology development in wheat and corn; cell technologies in corn and peas, insect resistance in corn and oilseed rape
Crops: corn, wheat, rye, oilseed rape
© KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA 2025
