Syngenta invests R$65 million and opens the largest product formulation technology center in Brazil

On October 23, Syngenta's largest product formulation technology center in the world will be inaugurated in Paulínia, in the interior of São Paulo. The new venture joins the multinational's six other technology centers, located in the United States, England, Switzerland, China, India and Singapore.

Located in the petrochemical hub of the city of São Paulo, close to other companies such as FMC and Corteva, the Technology and Product Engineering Center for Latin America received an investment of R$65 million and took 18 months to build. As a result, the new building is located next to the factory that has been in existence since 1978 – a way of bringing science closer to the products that go into the field.

“Until 2018, new product development was carried out in Switzerland and England, and tropicalized in Brazil. In 2018, Syngenta decided to bring product development closer to customers, and Brazil is a strategic location. In terms of technology development, this center is on par with Switzerland and the United States,” says Rodrigo Marques, Syngenta’s director of product engineering and technology.

With the inauguration of the Technology Center, some of the products that were previously imported are now produced locally. Ricardo Corrêa, general director at Syngenta's Paulínia unit, explains that this “is not necessarily an increase in production capacity,” although it increases the country's relevance and “has accelerated the introduction of new products in Paulínia.”

According to him, the factory will produce 200 million liters this year, including the entire portfolio. “At the same time that we bring new formulations here, we have some investments to build capacity, mainly in insecticides and fungicides,” he reveals.

New building

The Technology Center has an open innovation concept, with connected laboratories to foster collaboration among engineers. A select group of press, including Revista Cultivar, had first-hand access to the building – even before many employees – and were able to tour the different facilities.

The goal of the 2.500 square meter building is to provide greater agility in processes ranging from the development of new products to the way they are applied – whether chemical or biological. The building has natural lighting and ventilation, water reuse and photovoltaic energy.

Among the benefits, the location is a strategic point, both locally and globally. The new venture is close to the Holambra experimental station itself, where tests are carried out in fields and controlled environments, in addition to being close to the company's units in Indaiatuba and Ribeirão Preto.

From the point of view of the foreign market, the director of Syngenta explains that Paulínia was chosen in order to have the factory next to a “development hub for Latin America, and from here support different countries in the region, such as Argentina, Colombia and Mexico”.

Research and Development

Marques explains that research into new molecules remains concentrated in England, but the development of new products from these molecules is decentralized across the seven technology centers, “to address each regional need and be close to local customers.”

He says that discovering a molecule and creating an active ingredient requires US$200 million to be invested, usually over a period of 10 years. Once the molecule has been defined, characterized and its purpose is known, the next step is to develop the formulations. In the past, this would take about 18 months, but with the advancement of science, it is now possible to obtain a new formulation in six months and then send it for testing.

During the visit to Paulínia, it was possible to see up close the work of scientists, agronomists and chemists working to 'tropicalize' molecules in order to develop solutions suited to the Brazilian reality. According to the executive, this combination makes the environment more collaborative, encourages innovation and helps speed up processes.

The Technology Center is divided into six laboratories: formulations, analytical chemistry, process engineering, biologicals, packaging and application technology. “A large part of the initiative of this center is to expand the capacity to expand the portfolio, increasing solutions by 35% within the year”, projects Rodrigo Marques.

One of the investments is in the biological laboratory, which studies the use of microorganisms and metabolites as a complement to pest management. Using fungi and bacteria, the goal is to discover new products for pest control, seed treatment, nematicides and a wide range of fungicides and herbicides. According to Syngenta, the challenge is to develop new biologicals, test them and increase the production capacity of these products within two years.

To achieve this, scientific development is ongoing. Syngenta's investment pipeline for this new center includes an additional R$40 million over the next five years, starting in 2025.