Nunhems India Private Limited

In 1915, in search of a country home, the merchant  Herman Meddens discovered the Nunhem castle property in the southern Dutch province of Limburg. He purchased the facilities, moved there with his family and by 1916, had every intention to start a mixed fruit and vegetable operation. But fate had other plans. When it came to harvest, auction prices were tremendously disappointing. Meddens decided to leave the beans he had grown to ripen for their seeds. This moment marked the beginning of Nunhems Zaden, the predecessor of today’s Nunhems.

Nunhems Zaden continued to grow over the years, developing increasing numbers of well-received seed varieties. Between 1952 and 1977, Nunhems registered no less than 191 varieties as a result of the company's own breeding and selection programs. Over the past 90 years, Nunhems has evolved from a local, family-owned business to a major player in the global vegetable seeds market. This evolution has witnessed constant growth – both organic as well as through acquisitions – and an ongoing geographical expansion. Today, Nunhems employs people in more than 40 countries, and sells its seed varieties in more than 100.

While many examples of unique products and effective solutions have emerged from the Nunhems' portfolio in the course of its history, the company has always paid particular attention to people. Two-way interaction, mutual care and inspiration have contributed significantly to the company’s success. Motivated employees and trustful relationships with our customers and partners are our key investment into the future. In 2002, Nunhems became part of Bayer CropScience. A subsidiary of Bayer AG, Bayer CropScience is one of the world’s leading innovative crop science companies, offering products and solutions in crop protection, non-agricultural pest control, seeds and plant biotechnology.

Mission:
As a globally integrated group of teams we are dedicated to developing innovative genetics and related services and building unique customer relationships.

Nunhems stands for:

• Well-being of its employees
• Success for its customers
• Long-term value growth
• Sustainable solutions for current and future generations
• Ideas and innovation to create business opportunities
• Functional and cultural diversity and recognition of everybody’s contribution
• Entrepreneurship with professionalism and integrity

Vision:
Our vision is to become the market leader through crop specialization and cooperative relationships with our customers.

To ensure high-quality seed is delivered to our customers, Nunhems' quality development specialists work with our Production department to ensure that our seed is produced using the best available practices; while ensuring quality standards are considered throughout the process. Once the seed arrives at one of our processing centers, every single seed lot is examined with care to ensure our high global quality standards are met. Our highly qualified accredited experts rigorously test our seed for disease, moisture content, physical purity, genetic purity, vitality and germination.

Nunhems Quality Assurance labs are internationally accredited (Naktuinbouw Accredited Laboratories or Servicio Agricola Y Ganadero) and audited internally and externally by trained professional auditors. The different tests include:

• Seed Transmitted Disease Testing – Samples of each lot are tested for the presence of seed transmitted disease causing pathogens. These tests range from greenhouse grow-outs to highly technical and innovative detective methods.
• Physical purity – Representative samples are evaluated under high magnification to determine if weed seed, other crop or inert materials are present in the seed lot.
• Genetic Purity – The traditional grow-out technique is used along with highly sophisticated equipment and techniques (DNA analyses) to determine trueness-to-type, percent hybridism and the presence of other genetic off-types in a seed lot.
• Vitality and Germination – The first and basic determination of seed quality. Each lot is tested according to strict rules by certified analysts. Seed is germinated and grown in growth chambers and greenhouses that provide the right conditions for the proper test results.