Monsanto in cooperation with the Lubbock Economic Development Alliance (LEDA) is planning to begin construction of a new, state-of-the-art cotton seed processing facility in Lubbock, Texas. The construction of the new facility is expected to begin in March 2016 and be completed in the second half of calendar year 2017.

With a capital investment of $140 million, the new Lubbock is expected to employ 40 full-time personnel. The site will be established as Monsanto’s primary U.S. hub for all commercial cotton seed processing operations – to include cleaning, treating and bagging of cotton seed – while existing processing facilities will transition to support storage and warehousing, pre-commercial operations and research in various parts of the Cotton Belt.

According to Dave Penn, cotton manufacturing lead at Monsanto, the facility in Lubbock will boost collaboration and efficiency within the company’s manufacturing organization. Last October, Monsanto announced a number of strategic actions to help drive greater scale in its business and further enhance its overall operations. Location of the new hub facility, Monsanto’s established relationship with LEDA and the opportunity to leverage new production technology factored into the decision to consolidate and optimize its U.S. commercial cotton seed processing operations.

The company’s existing cotton seed processing facilities in Arizona, Mississippi and Texas will continue to support manufacturing operations until summer 2017, at which point they will transition to support storage and warehousing, pre-commercial operations or research. Manufacturing employees who are offered the opportunity to relocate will also have the option to receive a severance package in the event they choose not to relocate. All remaining affected employees will be offered enhanced benefits under Monsanto’s Separation Plan.