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| Company type | Public |
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| Euronext: RIN | |
| Industry | Agriculture |
| Predecessor | Andrieux (from 1742) Chez Vilmorin-Andrieux (from 1775) Vilmorin-Andrieux & Cie (from 1815) Vilmorin SA (from 1986) Vilmorin & Cie (from 1992) Vilmorin Clause & Cie (from 1997) |
| Founded | 1743; 282 years ago (1743) |
| Founder | Claude Geoffroy & Pierre Andrieux |
| Headquarters | , France |
Area served | Europe,North America,Asia, theMiddle East,Australia |
| Products | Seeds |
Number of employees | 750 |
| Parent | Limagrain |
| Subsidiaries | Vilmorin Iberica (Spain, Portugal), Vilmorin Italia (Italy), Vilmorin North America (USA, Canada), Vilmorin Do Brasil (Brazil), Vilmorin Atlas (Morocco), Vilmorin Anadolu Tohumculuk (Turkey), OOO Vilmorin (Russia), Semillas Shamrock Internacional (Mexico, Central America) |
| Website | https://www.vilmorincie.com/en/ |
Vilmorin is a Frenchseed producer. The company has a long history inFrance, where it was family-controlled for almost two centuries, and today exists as a publicly traded company owned principally by agro-industrial cooperativeGroupe Limagrain, the largest plant breeding and seed company in theEuropean Union.
Vilmorin was founded as a plant and seed boutique in 1743 by seed expert Claude Geoffroy and her husband Pierre Andrieux, the chief seed supplier and botanist toKing Louis XV. The store was located on thequai de la Mégisserie, a street in the1st arrondissement ofParis. In 1774, their daughter married botany enthusiastPhilippe-Victoire Levêque de Vilmorin (1746-1804). Together, they revived the stores and created the Vilmorin-Andrieux House, which later became Vilmorin-Andrieux and Company under the leadership of their son,Philippe André de Vilmorin (1776-1862). Philippe-Victoire de Vilmorin began importing trees and exotic plants into Europe in 1766, starting with theAmerican tulip tree, the domesticatedbeet, and therutabaga. Such plants were unknown in Europe prior to Vilmorin-Andrieux's commercial promotion of them for food, fodder and ornamentation.
The Vilmorin estate in the Paris suburb ofVerrières-le-Buisson, a former hunting lodge ofLouis XIV of France, became known for its gardens and arboretum, and the Vilmorin company was headquartered in Verrières-le-Buisson, where it was led by a succession of Vilmorin heirs, includingLouis de Vilmorin (1816-1860),Elisa Bailly de Vilmorin (1826-1868),[1]Henry de Vilmorin (1843-1899),Maurice de Vilmorin (1849-1918),Philippe de Vilmorin (1872-1917),Jacques de Vilmorin (1882-1933), Louis de Vilmorin (1883-1944),Louise de Vilmorin (1902-1969),Olivier de Vilmorin (1904-1962),Roger de Vilmorin (1905-1980), andAndré de Vilmorin (1907-1987).[2]
The company produced the first seed catalog for farmers and academics. In 1856, Louis de Vilmorin published "Note on the Creation of a New Race of Beetroot and Considerations on Heredity in Plants", establishing the theoretical groundwork for the modern seed-breeding industry. The company's leaders continued to publish numerous botanical academic articles throughout the company's early history.
In 1972 the company was acquired byRené Hodée, a farmer from theAnjou region who relocated the company toLa Ménitré, a town to the southwest of Paris. Three years later, in 1975, he sold the company toGroupe Limagrain, which changed the name from Vilmorin-Andrieux to Vilmorin SA in 1986, and in 1989 created theOxadis division to specialize in Vilmorin's home vegetable garden activities, including vegetable seeds, flowers and trees, plant health products, and various pet and garden supplies for the amateur market. Following this restructuring, Vilmorin focused on vegetable seeds and trees for professionals (growers, seed producers, and nurseries).
Depuis la fondation de la maison il y a 250 ans, Vilmorin s'inscrit en filiation directe avec l'excellence. C'est l'étude de la médecine qui amène Philippe Victoire de Vilmorin, créateur de la maison Vilmorin, remarquable scientifique, à l'étude de la botanique. Ses travaux ont un retentissement bien au-delà des frontières de la France. Si bien que le roi Louis XV le fit "Maître Grainier et Botaniste de sa Majesté le roi de France.
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