Genencor

Genencor International

Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Biotechnology
Founded	1982;43 years ago (1982)
Headquarters	Palo Alto, California, U.S.
Key people	Tjerk de Ruiter (Chairman & CEO)
Products	Purafect, Properase, Spezyme
Revenue	US$380 million (2005)
Number of employees	1,500 (2005)
Parent	IFF
Website	biosciences.dupont.com

Genencor is a biotechnology company based in Palo Alto, CA and a subsidiary of IFF. ^[1] Genencor is a producer of Industrial enzymes and low-priced bulk protein. It is considered to have pioneered the field of industrial biotechnology, as distinct from traditional applications of biotechnology to health care and agriculture. ^[2]

The name Genencor originates with Genencor, Inc., the original joint venture between Genentech and Corning Incorporated, which was founded in 1982. A.E. Staley made a substantial investment to the company in 1984, making it a partner with Corning and Genentech. After Eastman bought A.E. Staley's share, Genencor became part of Eastman Kodak. ^[3]

In 2005 Genencor was acquired by Danisco. ^[4]

In 2008 Genencor entered a joint venture with DuPont, called DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol LLC, to develop and commercialize low cost technology for the production of cellulosic ethanol. ^[5] In 2008, Genencor and Goodyear announced they were working to develop BioIsoprene.

In 2011, DuPont acquired Danisco for $6.3 billion. ^[6]

In 2021, portions of DuPont including the Genencor division were acquired by International Flavors & Fragrances. ^[7]

Awards

Genencor achieved the following awards:^{[ citation needed ]}

• Named No. 2 Best Medium-Sized Company to Work for in America by the Great Place to Work® Institute, Inc. (2004)
• Named No. 1 Best Medium-Sized Company to Work for in America by the Great Place to Work® Institute, Inc. (2005)
• Named No. 1 Best Place to Work in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Chronicle (2005)
• Named No. 11 Best Medium-Sized Company to Work for in America by the Great Place to Work® Institute, Inc. (2011)

See also

• Environmental biotechnology
• Agricultural biotechnology

References

1. DuPont. "DuPont to Acquire Danisco for $6.3 Billion". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
2. Bajpai, Pratima (2015). Pulp and Paper Industry: Chemicals. Amsterdam: Elsevier. p. 312. ISBN   978-0-12-803425-5.
3. Ee, Jan H. van; Misset, Onno (1997). Enzymes in Detergency. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. p. 16. ISBN   0-8247-9995-X.
4. Danisco acquire Genencor for $419 million
5. Qureshi, Nasib; Hodge, David B.; Vertes, Alain (2014). Biorefineries: Integrated Biochemical Processes for Liquid Biofuels. Newnes. p. 63. ISBN   978-0-444-59504-1.
6. Michael J. De La Merced (2011-01-09). "DuPont to Buy Danisco for $5.8 Billion". The New York Times . DuPont agreed Sunday evening to buy Danisco, a Danish specialty food ingredients maker, for $5.8 billion in cash... as well as assume $500 million of Danisco's debt.
7. "IFF to merge with DuPont's $26.2 billion nutrition unit". CNBC. 2019-12-16. Retrieved 2021-02-15.