KWS is one of the world's leading plant breeding companies. 5,147 employees in 70 countries and net sales of € 1,068 million in fiscal 2017/2018. For 160 years KWS has operated as an independent company with a tradition of family ownership. Our expertise lies in the breeding of varieties and the production and sale of seed for corn, sugar beet, cereals, oil-seed rape and sunflower. KWS uses state-of-the-art plant breeding methods to continuously improve variety yields and resistances to diseases, pests and abiotic stress. To that end, the company invested 18.5 percent of its net sales last fiscal year in research and development.