Pioneer Hi-Bred International has changed its public face.
The world’s largest seed company used to mention its parent company, DuPont, only on second reference, but no more. The parent is now front and centre: DuPont Pioneer.
Ian Grant, president of DuPont Pioneer Canada, said the name change won’t directly affect the company’s operations. The move was meant to connect both businesses to the DuPont food and nutrition sector.
DuPont is a scientific company.
In some circles, it is known for paint and coatings, chemicals and industrial products. In others, such as on the farm, it is known for pesticides. In energy circles, its 2011 acquisition of enzyme company Danisco means ethanol production. DuPont Danisco is a specialty food ingredients giant.
Read Also
Increasing farmland prices blamed on investors
a major tax and financial services firm says investors are driving up the value of farmland, preventing young farmers from entering the business. Robert Andjelic said that is bullshit.
DuPont Applied Biosciences and DuPont Nutrition and Health are also mostly focused on food. There is also DuPont Crop Protection, DuPont Packaging, DuPont Animal Health, DuPont Qualicon, which is food safety, and DuPont Solae, a soy food products joint venture acquired from Bunge.
The company is involved in 17 major industries, of which food products are a growing part. Non-agricultural and food brands include Tyvek, Nomex and Corrian.
Grant said DuPont is focused on the growth of its food and nutrition businesses. Ensuring that they all share the name in the same way helps send a reliable brand message about the company and its role in food and agriculture.
He said the name change should also send a message to the markets and employees that the company is investing in its biological operations.
“The company sees the growing world population and is taking a role in ensuring there is enough food to meet its needs,” said Grant.
The United Nations says the world’s population grew 12 percent in the past decade while incomes have risen 30 percent. Farmland area has grown slightly, as has production, but Perez Dominguez of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development says it hasn’t kept up with demand.
The DuPont Crop Protection division and DuPont Pioneer won’t be bundling seeds with chemicals any time soon, but Grant said he wouldn’t rule it out down the road.
He said the two entities remain separate businesses. For example, DuPont Pioneer won’t be changing the trapezoid symbol of Pioneer crop genetics. The logo makes the field signs rapidly recognizable and stands out on the orange and white seed bags.
DuPont began acquiring Pioneer Hi-Bred in 1997 by paying $1.7 billion for 20 percent. In 1999, it bought the rest of the company for $7.7 billion.
