S&W Seed Company (Nasdaq: SANW) announced today that Walter van Leeuwen has been appointed as the Company’s Vice President of Australian Sales and Marketing, where he will have primary responsibility for expanding the market for the Company’s non-dormant Australian-grown varieties. Mr. van Leeuwen has more than 20 years of extensive experience in a wide diversity of management roles within the agricultural industry. Since November 2013, Mr. van Leeuwen has been functioning as the Sales & Marketing Manager for Seed Genetics International (SGI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of S&W Seed Company, based in Adelaide, South Australia.
Mr. van Leeuwen joined SGI in February 2009 as Sales & Logistics Manager. In this role, he developed and implemented strategies to facilitate the efficient delivery of proprietary and private label alfalfa and white clover seed products into numerous overseas markets from the production base in Australia. Prior to joining SGI, Mr. van Leeuwen was Operations Manager, Seed Certification of Seed Services Australia, where he joined in 2004. In this position, he oversaw the production of certified small seeds, including alfalfa, cereals, grain legumes and cotton seed. From 1998 to 2003, Mr. van Leeuwen was employed as a Potato Agronomist by McCain Foods South Africa. In early 2002, Mr. van Leeuwen was promoted to the position of managing the entire potato seed supply chain for McCain Foods South Africa.
Mr. van Leeuwen graduated from the Pretoria University of Technology in South Africa where he obtained a Bachelor degree in crop production.
Mark Grewal, chief executive officer of S&W Seed Company, commented, “Walter has a tremendous knowledge of international seed markets and has proven to be a strong asset to the S&W organization since joining us in 2013, when we acquired SGI. As our business has expanded over the last two years, Walter’s ability to integrate and leverage his relationships, as well as those of the organization as a whole, to drive sales and meet the needs of customers has become a key factor in our recent success. Walter will play a critical role in meeting customer’s requirements as we work to become the ‘go-to’ alfalfa seed company in the world. We look forward to many great years ahead.”
Mr. van Leeuwen commented, “I’m very enthusiastic about the future of agriculture and look forward to continuing to build and expand the S&W business along with our very experienced internal team and business partners. Through the continuous product development, expanded production base, and sales & marketing of our unique range of forage and specialty crop products, there are many opportunities to continue to grow the S&W business in the future.”
About S&W Seed Company
Founded in 1980, S&W Seed Company is a global agricultural company, headquartered in Fresno, California. The Company’s vision is to be the world’s preferred proprietary seed company which supplies a range of forage and specialty crop products that supports the growing global demand for animal proteins and healthier consumer diets. The Company is the global leader in alfalfa seed, with unrivaled research and development, production and distribution capabilities. S&W’s capabilities span the world’s alfalfa seed production regions with operations in the San Joaquin and Imperial Valleys of California, five other U.S. states, Australia and three provinces in Canada, and S&W sells its seed products in more than 25 countries around the globe. Additionally, the Company is utilizing its research and breeding expertise to develop and produce stevia, the all-natural, zero calorie sweetener for the food and beverage industry.
S&W Seed Company Safe Harbor Statement
This release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. “Forward-looking statements” describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as “may,” “future,” “plan” or “planned,” “will” or “should,” “expected,” “anticipates,” “draft,” “eventually” or “projected.” You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors and other risks identified in
our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2014, our Registration Statement on Form S-3 filed on January 30, 2015 and any amendment or supplements thereto, our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the nine months ended March 31, 2015, and in other filings subsequently made by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company does not have an obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of the receipt of new information, the occurrence of future events or otherwise.
Company Contact: Investor Contact:
Matthew Szot, Chief Financial Officer Joe Dorame, Robert Blum, Joe Diaz
S&W Seed Company Lytham Partners, LLC
Phone: +1-559-884-2535 Phone: +1-602-889-9700
