Sunseeds is nearing completion of a massive relocation and expansion project at the company’s Parma, Idaho complex, located in the heart of the Treasure Valley. The company plans to move its corporate headquarters – along with many other key departments – from Morgan Hill, CA and Brooks, OR to the Parma facility. By the time all construction is completed on the multi-million dollar project, the Parma campus will nearly double in size from 83,000 square feet of building space to more than 158,000 square feet of office and warehouse space.

Jerry Berge, Sunseeds Country Group Head North America and Chief Financial Officer, said the relocation/expansion project has been in the planning stages for several years. He said the Morgan Hill office will be closed in late May, and expects all major departments relocated to Parma will be fully operational in mid-May. The improvement project will impact a number of major Sunseeds departments, including Administration, Production, Quality Assurance, Customer Service, Sales and Marketing, and Operations. "Our goal was to get all of our disciplines together," said Berge. "The concept is to provide a total customer service facility where we have all the departments together for better communication, better interaction among all of our employees, and most importantly, better service to our customers." For more than 150 years, Sunseeds has emphasized quality in every step of its operations – from the development of high-yielding, disease resistant seed varieties through the hiring of highly trained technical and support staff. Ed Bartkowski, Ph.D., director of Operations, noted that the company’s investment and expansion at the Parma site will greatly improve Sunseeds’ ability to deliver hybrid vegetable seed of the highest quality.
	This new building houses Customer Service, Logistics, Packaging and Shipping. The relocation/expansion project has been in the planning stages for several years. All departments relocated to the Parma facility will be fully operational in mid-May.
	One of the Parma facilities new state-of-the-art greenhouses and the Quality Assurance Seed Lab.

There were a number of factors influencing Sunseeds’ decision to relocate its corporate headquarters to Parma, located about 50 minutes northwest of Boise, according to Bartkowski. He said the site has plenty of land to expand and build new structures, an availability of a highly trained local workforce, Operations was already based there, and two of Sunseeds major seed crops – carrots and onions – are grown in the area.

When completed, the campus will have 14 buildings to house Customer Service, Logistics, Packaging, Shipping, Receiving, Maintenance, Conditioning, Seed Enhancement, Quality Assurance, Administration and Sales, and greenhouses. Five new buildings have been added to the complex, while other existing buildings have been remodeled or expanded.

Bartkowski said Sunseeds research facilities in Brooks, OR, Lodi, CA and Bakersfield, CA will remain open, and will not be relocated to Idaho.

Berge said once the improvements are completed, about 110 employees will be based out of the Parma facility, with an additional 100 employees at the company’s other locations.

One of the new showcase buildings at the Parma complex will be the Quality Assurance department and two adjoining greenhouses. Jim Watkins, Ph.D., director of QA, said the greenhouses will be state of the art.

"They’ll have the ability to light, shade, vent, cool and heat – all the bells and whistles that a new greenhouse facility would have," he said. "The greenhouses will be able to mimic many types of environments and temperatures."

Watkins said there are many benefits of having the seed germination, vigor testing, grow out, and QA administration personnel based out of the same facility. In the past, the QA department was based in Brooks, located about 400 miles east of Parma. This meant more than 20,000 samples had to be mailed and analyzed off-site annually. Watkins expects the relocation will not only improve turn-around time for seed testing, but also enable the Sunseeds QA group to interact, cooperate and participate in all aspects of seed processing, enhancement and storage.

"There’s going to be a lot of synergy taking place between the Operations and QA group," said Watkins. (Two groups – seed health and varietal purity – will remain in Brooks, OR.)

In addition, Sunseeds Operations department will now work "round the clock" during peak times (August through February) at the Parma site. All the seed enhancement services will be conducted in a new 52,000-square foot building. These services will include: pelleting, encrustment, film coating, priming, seed disinfection, and environmental coating. All seed will be processed, packaged and shipped from Parma.

"This means that all enhancements for Sunseeds vegetable seed will be done in-house, and will allow a maximum amount of quality control over the end result," said Bartkowski.

Sunseeds is planning to host an Open House and give tours of the expanded and remodeled Parma campus this summer.

Sunseeds is part of the Nunza B.V. group of companies which markets the Nunhems and Sunseeds brands throughout the world. It is a world leader in the development, production and marketing of hybrid vegetable seed.