Sumitomo Chemical restructures its group subsidiaries to strengthen its biotechn

Sumitomo Chemical has announced the restructuring of its group subsidiaries to further strengthen its biology business. Valent BioSciences USA LLC (VBC) will be responsible for all biology-related business functions of the Sumitomo Chemical Group. The company also announced that Valent U.S.A. LLC (Valent), the U.S. headquarters of Sumitomo Chemical's crop protection business, has been configured with a new state-of-the-art facility at the national level, integrating Valent's headquarters and R&D operations. These measures will enable the Sumitomo Chemical Group to accelerate its contribution to sustainable agriculture while strengthening and expanding its global crop protection business.
 
The Sumitomo Chemical Group's global crop protection business has two pillars: traditional crop protection products and the biological business. Building on the growing demand for increased food production as the population grows, the global crop protection market is also growing, and the demand for the biological business is expected to grow significantly in the future.
 
In light of this trend, the Sumitomo Chemical Group has repositioned its biological business to enable VBC to direct all business functions. This has allowed VBC to become more operationally independent and has further strengthened the business. Specifically, VBC has created a Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) position to oversee global bio sales operations.The CCO will oversee the Sustainable Solutions Business Unit (SSBU), focusing on sales and service of bio-rational products in each region.The SSBU staff will also be increased. In addition to the SSBU established in Valente, Sumitomo Chemical plans to create new SSBU's at its regional headquarters for its crop protection business in South America and Europe.
 
In terms of biological products under development, Sumitomo Chemical currently has six new products expected to be launched soon and many other promising products in the early and mid-stage of development. These six new products will be launched in 2022 or later when they receive registration approval. The SSBU in each region will be responsible for marketing these products.
 
For traditional crop protection products, Valent's new facility, the North American Innovation Center (NAIC) in San Ramon, California, opens in August 2020. This new crop protection products site integrates Valent's headquarters and R&D operations, which were once equipped with state-of-the-art R&D labs at the NAIC in different locations in Northern California, and Valent will continue to focus on the development of innovative crop protection products to support sustainable agriculture.
 
Sumitomo Chemical will continue to promote research and development of traditional crop protection products and biological businesses that contribute to sustainable agriculture, and provide new solutions to agricultural producers through its global sales network. This will contribute to a stable supply of safe and reliable food, which is increasingly in demand around the world.