What SAATBAU LINZ eGen does

SAATBAU LINZ eGen is Austria's largest farmer cooperative (registered cooperative, eGen) for plant breeding and seed production, founded in 1950 and headquartered at Schirmerstraße 19, A-4060 Leonding, Austria. The company develops, multiplies, processes, and distributes certified agricultural seeds across a full crop portfolio — corn, soybeans, winter and summer cereals, rapeseed, sorghum, oil plants, protein plants, fodder and grassland, catch crops, flower mixtures, vegetables, and operating materials — under both conventional and BIO-Produkte organic lines. Proprietary variety development is executed through conventional (non-genetic-engineering) plant breeding, with breeding R&D reinvestment running at 5% of annual turnover and breeding operations anchored in subsidiary Saatzucht Donau. Across its seed centers the cooperative takes in, cleans, stores, conditions, bags, and dispatches more than 50,000 tonnes of certified seed annually.

The cooperative monetizes the value chain in three integrated streams: one-time seed sales (certified seed production and trading through field advisors and the sesam24.at e-commerce platform), contract farming under conventional and organic terms (Kontrakte konventionell and Kontrakte bio) that lock in farmer offtake, and downstream raw material supply to the Central European food and feed industries via subsidiary SAATBAU ERNTEGUT GmbH. Distribution combines direct enterprise field sales through regional Fachberater (advisors), an in-house e-commerce storefront, and international wholly-owned subsidiaries covering Germany, France, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, and Canada, in addition to Saatbau International and Donau Saat.

Beyond core seed supply, SAATBAU operates an integrated ecosystem of customer-engagement and demand-generation assets: the SAATBAU ACADEMY (ACKERdemie) educational platform with webinars and field days, the Sortenfinder variety database, the Sortenversuche variety-trial portal, a bi-annual Inform magazine with ~20,000 circulation, and digital channels across the website and social platforms. Josef Fraundorfer serves as Geschäftsführer (Managing Director). The competitive position is anchored by cooperative ownership (member-farmer loyalty and captive multiplication base), 75 years of accumulated genetics, scale-efficient centralized seed processing, and the only certified Austrian origin breeding-distribution network of comparable footprint.

Name

SAATBAU LINZ eGen

Legal name

SAATBAU LINZ eGen

Website

https://saatbau.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1950

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

SAATBAU LINZ eGen is Austria's largest farmer cooperative for plant breeding, seed production, and distribution, founded in 1950 and headquartered in Leonding. It develops, processes (50,000+ tonnes annually), and sells certified conventional and organic seeds across all major Austrian crops to farmer members and food/feed industry customers in 13+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Seed Production

NAICS

Other Crop Farming (1119)

SIC

Agricultural Production-Crops (100)

akta.pro primary industry

Seed Production & Multiplication (Contract Growing, Foundation/Certified Seed) (AFABAFAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Plant Breeding & Variety Development (Conventional) (AFAGAIAF), Certified Seed Production (AFAGAIAC), Hybrid Seed Production (AFAGAIAD), Seed & Trait Distribution (Dealer Networks) (AFABAJAD)

Keywords

• Agricultural seed production
• Plant breeding programs
• Certified crop seeds
• Contract farming services
• Organic seed supply

Headquarters

HQ city

Leonding

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Seed Production and Trading: SAATBAU LINZ generates revenue through the production, processing, and sale of certified agricultural seeds including corn, soybeans, winter cereals, rapeseed, summer cereals, sorghum, oil plants, protein plants, fodder and grassland, catch crops, flowers, and vegetables. The company processes over 50,000 tonnes of seeds annually across its seed centers.
2. Contract Farming (Erntegut): The company operates contract farming programs (Kontrakte konventionell and Kontrakte bio) where farmers contract to grow specific crops that SAATBAU then purchases. This creates a closed-loop supply chain from seed delivery to harvest procurement.
3. Food Products (Lebensmittel): Through its SAATBAU ERNTEGUT GmbH subsidiary, the company supplies raw materials to the Central European food and feed industry, generating additional revenue streams from processed agricultural commodities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

SAATBAU LINZ eGen is Austria's largest plant breeding and certified seed production cooperative, operating the full agricultural value chain from genetic development through seed processing and distribution. It breeds, produces, and sells certified seeds for corn, soybeans, cereals, rapeseed, catch crops, and grassland mixtures, while also offering conventional and organic contract farming services and food products (Lebensmittel).

Product overview

SAATBAU LINZ eGen operates as a full-service seed company offering both conventional and organic seed products across diverse crop categories. The core product portfolio includes seeds for Mais (corn), Sojabohnen (soybeans), Wintergetreide (winter cereals), Raps (oilseed rape), Sommergetreide (spring cereals), Sorghum, Ölpflanzen (oil plants), Proteinpflanzen (protein plants), Futter- und Grünland (fodder and grassland), Zwischenfrüchte (catch crops), Blühmischung und Wildäsung (flower mixtures), Gemüse (vegetables), and Bio-Produkte (organic products), along with Betriebsmittel (operating materials). Named product offerings include DK EXAURA (hybrid rapeseed), BODENFIT® (catch crop mixture for soil climate adaptation), HYDROFIT® (water-efficient catch crop), NITROFIT (organic nitrogen-fixing catch crop), FUTTERPROFI EI (multi-year fodder mixture), and GRÜNLANDPROFI SPEZI (grassland reseeding mixture). Beyond seed sales, SAATBAU provides integrated services including Kontrakte konventionell and Kontrakte bio (contract farming for conventional and organic operations), Lebensmittel (food products division), SAATBAU ACADEMY (educational webinars and field days), Sesam24 online shop, Sortenfinder (variety selection tool), and Sortenversuche (variety trial results). The company covers the full agricultural value chain from breeding research through certified seed production to harvest contracting and food industry supply.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• DK EXAURA
• BODENFIT® BODENFIT® is a catch crop mixture used for soil cover and rotation, targeted at arable farmers seeking soil-building and erosion-control solutions between main crops.
• HYDROFIT® HYDROFIT® is a catch crop mixture used by arable farmers for soil and water management in crop rotations.
• NITROFIT NITROFIT is an organic catch crop mixture designed for organic arable farming operations.
• FUTTERPROFI EI FUTTERPROFI EI is a multi-year fodder mixture intended for forage production on livestock farms.
• GRÜNLANDPROFI SPEZI GRÜNLANDPROFI SPEZI is a grassland reseeding mixture used to renovate and improve established grassland.
• Contract Farming — Conventional (Kontrakte konventionell) Contract farming arrangement for conventional crop production, providing farmer-members and partner growers with a contracted sales channel and agreed pricing terms through SAATBAU LINZ eGen.
• Contract Farming — Organic (Kontrakte bio) Contract farming arrangement dedicated to organic crop production, supplying certified organic raw product through coordinated grower contracts.
• Food Products (Lebensmittel) Lebensmittel refers to the cooperative's food products line, extending beyond seed supply into downstream food processing and sales.
• Certified Seeds (Corn, Soybeans, Cereals, Rapeseed) Certified seed product lines for the cooperative's principal field crops — corn, soybeans, cereals, and rapeseed — supplied to arable farmers across Austria, Europe, and Canadian markets via subsidiaries.

Quantifiable outcome

• 50,000+ tonnes of seeds processed annually
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Saatzucht DonaucoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSaatzucht Donau is a subsidiary and plant breeding partner of SAATBAU. The company is listed among SAATBAU's subsidiaries and represents a key component of the breeding and seed development value chain.
• SAATBAU ERNTEGUT GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSAATBAU ERNTEGUT GmbH is the subsidiary that manages harvest procurement and food industry supply operations. Together with SAATBAU LINZ eGen, it covers key areas of the value chain in agriculture and the feed and food industries.
• International Plant Breeders NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSAATBAU collaborates with plant breeders and seed producers domestically and internationally through its network of subsidiaries including Saatbau International, Donau Saat, and various national operations across Europe and beyond.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Deutsche Saatveredelung (DSV): German farmer cooperative active in plant breeding, seed production and agricultural inputs across oilseeds, cereals, catch crops and grasses. Highly comparable as a German-speaking cooperative seed company with parallel breeding, distribution, and contract farming activities.
• RAGT Semences: French seed company breeding and producing cereals, maize, oilseeds, sorghum and forage seeds across Europe. Comparable as a multi-crop European seed breeder with overlapping crop portfolio and farmer-direct distribution.
• DLF Seeds A/S: Danish cooperative-led seed company and global leader in forage and grass seeds. Comparable as a European farmer-cooperative-influenced seed producer in fodder, grassland and catch crops, directly overlapping SAATBAU's forage/grassland portfolio.
• Strube D&S GmbH: German family-owned plant breeding and seed company focused on sugar beet, cereal, sunflower and rapeseed. Comparable as a mid-sized European seed breeder with overlapping cereal and rapeseed portfolio and direct farmer sales channels.
• KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA: German-headquartered, family-controlled plant breeding and seed company operating across sugar beet, corn, cereals, oilseed and vegetable seeds. Directly comparable as a European, multi-crop seed breeder/producer with similar breeding-led business model and farmer-distribution channels.
• Limagrain: French farmer-owned cooperative and one of the largest seed companies globally, with vegetable seeds (Vilmorin) and field crops. Directly comparable as a farmer cooperative seed business with vertical breeding, production, and international footprint.

Broad incumbents

• Corteva Agriscience: Global pure-play agriculture company (including Pioneer) breeding and selling corn, soybean, cereals and oilseed seeds worldwide with integrated crop protection. Broad incumbent competing across overlapping crops but with biotech-enabled genetics and global scale.
• Bayer Crop Science: Global agricultural inputs giant combining seeds (incl. the former Monsanto portfolio), crop protection and digital farming. Overlaps SAATBAU in corn, soybean, cereals and oilseeds but at far greater scale and with biotech traits.
• BASF Agricultural Solutions: Global agriculture business covering seeds (incl. vegetable and oilseed rape hybrids), crop protection and digital tools. Overlaps SAATBAU in oilseed rape and cereal seeds as a broad incumbent with hybrid and biotech capability.
• Syngenta Group: Global agriscience group providing seeds (vegetables, corn, soybean, sunflower, cereals) and crop protection. Broad incumbent competing in several of SAATBAU's crop segments with much larger R&D and geographic reach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCK2Zk0LuQqM0n6NSq-sE2IQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/saatbaulinz
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/saatbau-linz-egen
• Instagraminstagram.com/saatbau_linz/?hl=de

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SAATBAU LINZ eGen