Matthias Christian Rabbethge
(1804 – 1902)
#celebreed170
Entrepreneurial courage, scientific curiosity, and long-term thinking have shaped the history of KWS. What began as a sugar factory in the Magdeburger Börde region is now one of the world’s leading plant breeding companies.
Plant breeding is not a business where success comes quickly. New varieties are not developed in a matter of weeks or quarters, but over many years. The foresight that is so crucial to successful breeding has been a hallmark of KWS since its foundation back in 1856.
Farmer Matthias Christian Rabbethge laid the cornerstone in Klein Wanzleben, recognizing the potential of the beet sugar business early on and acquiring a majority stake in a sugar factory. His son, Matthias Rabbethge Jr., pioneered the systematic breeding of sugarbeet in Germany, thereby setting the stage for what defines KWS to this day: a plant breeding company specializing in high-quality seed.
From the “sugar village” to the world
Around 1900, the sugar market was booming, high-yield seed was in demand, and KWS expanded internationally for the first time. The first location abroad was established in Ukraine, at the time the world’s most important sugarbeet growing region.
But the First World War led to economic losses, prompting the company to diversify its operations to become less dependent on individual crops and less susceptible to market fluctuations. In addition to sugarbeet, the company began breeding fodder beet as well as cereals and potatoes.
The most significant turning point came at the end of the Second World War. When it became apparent that Klein Wanzleben would become part of the Soviet occupation zone, the company’s very existence was at stake. In 1945, the British military transported the founding families together with about 60 metric tons of seed to Einbeck in Lower Saxony. Although KWS had to start virtually from scratch there, the company was able to quickly build on its past successes thanks to the sugarbeet variety “Kleinwanzlebener E.”
A new beginning in Einbeck: One of the first buildings at the new site was a large storage facility.
Ever-evolving
Even after this new beginning, KWS continued to evolve. Breeding programs were developed for corn as well as oil and protein crops such as oilseed rape and sunflowers. In 1968, KWS acquired a majority stake in Ferdinand-von-Lochow-Petkus GmbH, then Germany’s largest cereal breeding company, and consolidated its breeding programs for wheat, barley, rye, and oats. This made cereal breeding a firm pillar of the company’s portfolio. Alongside the expansion of its portfolio, the company’s international presence also continued to grow steadily.
An important step was the acquisition of Dutch vegetable seed specialist Pop Vriend Seeds in 2019, which laid the foundation for the company’s vegetable business. This was followed by the creation of an international network of breeding locations in Europe and Latin America and new research and development structures. The long-term goal is to establish KWS as a leading breeder in the vegetable seed sector as well.
To this day, KWS remains a family business. This ownership structure creates independence and provides the freedom to make decisions that extend far beyond short-term market cycles.
170 years after its founding by Matthias Christian Rabbethge, KWS operates breeding programs for more than 20 crops and has a presence in over 70 countries worldwide. More than 700 KWS advisors in Europe alone support farming businesses as “seed partners” with regionally adapted varieties and agronomic expertise. The goal has remained the same to this day: to contribute to productive and resilient agriculture for current and future generations.
As a plant breeder, KWS has always thrived on diversity, both in the genetics that form the foundation of our work and in the people who passionately make a difference every day.
Dr. Felix Büchting | Spokesperson of the Executive Board of KWS
