Monsanto Company today announced that it plans to construct a new data center on the west side of its World Headquarters campus in Creve Coeur, Mo. The $21 million, 40,000 square-foot building will be the most efficient and cost-effective approach to provide for the company's global data center capabilities well into the future.

The company has retained the services of Fox Architects to design the facility, with William Tao & Associates as the lead engineering firm. Monsanto plans to file the building plan for the data center with the city of Creve Coeur in the very near future. Groundbreaking is scheduled in early 2006, and the data center could be occupied as early as the summer of 2007.

"Today's Monsanto relies heavily on information and speed," said Mark Showers, chief information officer for Monsanto. "Whether you're a researcher who's analyzing the corn genome or a sales representative who's tracking a customer's order, the faster you can access data and make good decisions, the more competitive you can be in the marketplace. The new data center will give our 16,200 employees worldwide additional capabilities to keep us at the forefront of the agricultural technology industry."

A small team of employees has worked during the past seven months to determine the most appropriate solution to upgrade the company's current data center. The team focused on determining the most efficient and cost-effective approach to meet the company's current and anticipated future needs, as well as ensuring that the new data center would be a good fit within the community in and around the Monsanto World Headquarters campus.

Monsanto and its former parent company have owned approximately 250 acres at the intersection of Lindbergh Boulevard and Olive Street Road in Creve Coeur since the early 1950s. "We've always been proud to call suburban St. Louis our home and we're excited to solidify the World Headquarters campus with a new data center," Showers said.

Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality.