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SESVanderHave is a leading global player in the sugar beet seed sector. We specialise in every aspect of sugar beet seed production, from the development of new and more resistant varieties right through to the final blue seeds.

A leading global player

SESVanderHave is a leading global player in the sugar beet seed sector. We specialise in every aspect of sugar beet seed production, from the development of new and more resistant varieties right through to the final blue seeds. Since 2005, SESVanderHave has been part of the Florimond Desprez group, a French family-owned business specialising in seeds.

SESVanderHave has its headquarters in the Belgium’s "sugar capital" Tienen, which is also the location of one of the three high-tech factories where our sugar beet seeds are processed. Our other factories are located in Kiev (Ukraine) and Alexeyevka (Russia).

Every year, SESVanderHave sells over one and a half million units of one hundred thousand seeds each.

Worldwide, SESVanderHave sells 360 varieties in more than 50 countries. Each variety is developed for the needs of individual markets all over the world.

Tailor-made solutions

Thanks to our worldwide network of local agents and subsidiaries, SESVanderHave has a presence in every country where sugar beet is grown. “Our local colleagues are not only responsible for sales, but also maintain close contact with the local market, so that they have a thorough knowledge of the needs and expectations of growers. That is a definite advantage," says Bruno Vandamme, Commercial Director at SESVanderHave.

Worldwide there are major differences in climatological conditions, soil quality, and the diseases and pests that threaten the sugar beet. Conditions at any given location can vary from year to year, for example due to climate change or the emergence of new diseases.

SESVanderHave offers varieties for each region that are best suited to the local soil and climate.

Sesvanderhave worldmap 2019

From Japan to the United States

The temperate climate zone in Western Europe is the cradle of the sugar beet industry and the foundation of SESVanderHave's success. At the same time, SESVanderHave also continues to explore new markets. A long-term presence in Eastern Europe, with our own local production facilities, is the best example of this. However, China, Japan, North Africa, the United States and the Middle East are also increasingly important markets. In addition, SESVanderHave’s efforts to develop sugar beet suitable for tropical regions (the SESVanderHave Tropical Beet) are also beginning to bear fruit.

Read all about the SESVanderHave Tropical Beet here.

Our history

SESVanderHave was created in 2005 when the Belgian seed company SES Europe merged with the Dutch firm DJ VanderHave. Between them, the two companies have almost 200 years of experience and expertise in sugar beet production.

The history of VanderHave goes back as far as 1879, the year in which D.J. Vander Have set up a seed company in Zeeland. Selection and breeding of sugar beet seed began in 1941. In 1977, VanderHave was taken over by Cosun (Suiker Unie).

The foundations of SES Europe were laid in 1948 with the creation of S.B.G.B. (the Belgian Sugar Beet Seed Company - Société Belge de Graine de Betterave Sucrière). As a result of problems with the production, quality and supply of sugar beet seeds after WWII, Belgian sugar manufacturers needed to set up their own seed company.

This company grew and rapidly began to expand internationally. In 1972, S.B.G.B. merged with an Italian seed firm, and changed its name to SES.

In 1987, SES was taken over by the British multinational ICI, which, in 1993 decided to group a number of activities – including seeds – within a separate international company called Zeneca.

In 1996, Zeneca and Cosun merged to form Advanta, the world’s fifth largest seed company.

Finally, in 2005, Advanta sold its sugar beet seed activities to the Florimond Desprez group, a French family-owned business specialising in seeds. Florimond Desprez also has a long tradition that goes back six generations to 1830.

This is the history behind the creation of SESVanderHave, a company that is 100% focused on sugar beet seed.

Sesvanderhave logo flags old historic ses ici