Vilmorin
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Seed production, agriculture |
| Founded | 1743 |
| Founder | Claude Geoffroy and Pierre Andrieux |
| Headquarters | Verrières-le-Buisson , France |
Area served | Europe |
| Owner | Groupe Limagrain (majority) |
| Parent | Groupe Limagrain |
| Website | www |
Vilmorin is a French enterprise specializing in seed production, with origins tracing back to 1743. For nearly 200 years, it remained a family-run business before transitioning into a publicly listed company. Today, it is predominantly owned by the agro-industrial cooperative Groupe Limagrain, recognized as the largest plant breeding and seed organization within the European Union.
History
The company began as a boutique for plants and seeds in Paris, established by Claude Geoffroy and Pierre Andrieux, who served as the principal seed supplier to King Louis XV. In 1774, their daughter wed botany aficionado Philippe-Victoire Levêque de Vilmorin, who rejuvenated the enterprise under the name Vilmorin-Andrieux House. Their son, Philippe André de Vilmorin, further expanded the business by introducing non-native species such as the American tulip tree, beet, and rutabaga into European farming and gardening practices.
Vilmorin's headquarters are situated in Verrières-le-Buisson, on land formerly owned by Louis XIV of France. Successive generations of the Vilmorin family enhanced both its scientific research and commercial influence. A significant milestone was achieved in 1856 when Louis de Vilmorin published pioneering studies on plant heredity that laid the groundwork for contemporary seed breeding methodologies. The firm also pioneered the creation of seed catalogs aimed specifically at farmers and scholars.
In 1972, farmer René Hodée took ownership of Vilmorin and transferred its base to La Ménitré near Paris. Three years later, in 1975, he sold it to Groupe Limagrain, which renamed it Vilmorin SA in 1986. By 1989, Limagrain had introduced the Oxadis division to cater to amateur gardeners with seeds, plants, and gardening products, while Vilmorin concentrated on professional sectors such as vegetable seed production and tree cultivation for growers and nurseries.
Bibliography
- Gustave Heusé, Les Vilmorin (1746–1899) : Philippe Victoire Levêque de Vilmorin (1746–1804); Pierre Philippe André Levêque de Vilmorin (1776–1862); Pierre Louis François Levêque de Vilmorin (1816–1860); Charles Philippe Henry Levêque de Vilmorin (1843–1899), Librairie agricole de la Maison rustique, Paris, 1899, 32 p.
- Le guide Clause-Vilmorin du jardin, Oxadis, Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, 2008 (35th edition), 719 p.