Following a nearly one-year delay caused by Covid-19, Syngenta Crop Protection on Tuesday announced plans to retain its U.S. headquarters in Greensboro. During a virtual event Tuesday, the company said it will invest $68 million at its 17-building, 70-acre campus on Swing Road at Interstate 85.
The decision keeps 650 full-time and 100 contract jobs in Greensboro, along with its nearly $70 million payroll. Syngenta’s average annual salary is about $107,000.
“We had intended to announce our decision in 2020, however challenges posed by Covid-19 caused our delay,” said Vern Hawkins, president of North America Syngenta Crop Protection. “We decided the best approach for our business, employees and community is to redevelop a portion of our existing headquarters in Greensboro.”
That plan includes a new office building that will connect to Syngenta’s current laboratory facility on the north side of the campus, which we will completely renovated and modernized as part of the plan, according to Hawkins.
“Our new facilities will accommodate about 650 employees and 100 contractors, our investment will be more than $68 million in real property improvements, new furniture and fixtures and equipment,” he said.
Some buildings on the Syngenta campus date to 1966. The newest building was built in 1985. The campus was previously acquired by Syngenta legacy company Ciba Geigy. Syngenta was formed in 2000, and the site remains one of the company's major workplaces in the U.S.
Hawkins said Syngenta explored options in North Carolina and elsewhere.
“We looked at a number of sites in Guilford County,” he said. “We did look at sites near other locations that we have, RTP being one of those. We have a site outside of Chicago, and we did look at a few new areas. We did make a comparisons across those geographies and for a lot of reasons, including the excitement of our employees, the service and support and our connection to Greensboro, it came out on top.”
Greensboro Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Brent Christensen said Syngenta was close to making its decision last spring before Covid-19.
“We could see the end line in January of 2020, and then as we all know our whole world changed,” Christensen said. “Shortly thereafter, we knew this project just went on pause, it didn't go on stop, and that's why it's so wonderful today to see the company choose Greensboro and take the pause button off, and hopefully not just hit play, but hit fast forward.”
To ensure improved workplace productivity, safety and customer interaction, Hawkins said the new headquarters will include modern work and conference spaces; health, wellness and fitness facilities; cafeteria; auditorium; coffee areas; and other amenities. It will also build a Customer Experience Center to showcase the company’s products and services.
“We are focused on facility configuration that includes ways of working to keep people safe and healthy in the office, while also accounting for more flexible working options or employees who can effectively work away from the office,” Hawkins said.
$3.6 million in incentives
In January 2020, the Greensboro City Council and the Guilford Board of County Commissioners approved a combined $3.6 million in city and county incentive packages to keep Syngenta here. The 10-year, 70% tax rebate package is worth $1.7 million from Greensboro and $1.9 million from the county. Following the approval of the incentives last year, Hawkins said a decision was expected before spring 2020.
The onset of Covid-19 changed that timetable, though, when a Syngenta employee became the first reported Covid-19 case to be diagnosed in Guilford County. In addition to disrupting its operations, the response to the virus brought the company’s new space planning to a halt as well.
The two phases of redevelopment, the company said, will take approximately three years to complete. Hawkins said the site will be divided into a north and south phases, the initial phase focusing on the north side of the property.
“We are now in the process of assessing our team's needs and developing the workplace design plans, the new building and renovations for our existing labs,” he said. “Once that is completed, we will break ground for our construction, and we estimate the entire project will take approximately three years to complete. We plan to redevelop the north section with our new facilities and are currently assessing possibilities for the south portion of the campus.”
Hawkins said there are no plans to increase the staff at this time, but as attention is turned toward work on the south section there may be growth opportunity.
“We don't plan any job implications as a result of the announcement,” Hawkins said. “We certainly have ambitions to grow our company, and by the time we complete the site in three years, we will have some opportunities for growth. We don't have a projection on that right now. The agricultural market is taken a turn upward, which is helpful for us and we hope we can grab onto that upward cycle because we've been in a tough cycle for a while.”
Syngenta Crop Protection’s parent company, The Syngenta Group, is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. It was acquired in 2016 by ChemChina, which is owned by the Chinese government, for $43 billion.
