For a century, Kwizda Agro has stood for crop protection solutions that integrate scientific development, industrial implementation, and practical application in the field. On the occasion of its centenary, the Austrian family-owned company focuses on stability, efficacy, and sustainable corporate development.
Vienna/Leobendorf, 19 February 2026... Kwizda Agro celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. What began in 1926 with the distribution of the seed dressing “Abavit” to safeguard agricultural yields has grown into an internationally active company that sees crop protection as an integrated component of productive, intact habitats. For ten decades, Kwizda Agro has pursued a clear goal: bringing innovations into practice so that they can be used effectively, safely, and economically sustainably. “Our aim from the very start was to create crop protection solutions that truly benefit our customers,” says Kwizda Agro Managing Director Ronald Hamedl. “This intermediary role between scientific development, industrial implementation, and close connection to farmers still defines Kwizda Agro today.”
Technology Benchmark From Austria
A key success factor in Kwizda Agro's development has been the ability to make new active ingredients available under practical conditions. Kwizda Agro was among the first to introduce international active ingredients to Austria, supporting their launch through its own trial system and advisory services. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Kwizda Agro played a central role in the introduction of new classes of active ingredients such as the sulfonylureas. With the product “Ally” (1987), the application quantity in arable farming could for the first time be reduced from several litres to just a few grams per hectare — fundamentally changing working methods, logistics, and applications in the field. Products such as “Concert”, “Express”, and “Titus” followed, quickly becoming established in practice through extensive field trials.
With the development of the Leobendorf site (Lower Austria) from the late 1970s, Kwizda Agro further deepened its role: research, formulation technology, and production were systematically interconnected. Over the ensuing decades, the Leobendorf plant evolved into one of Europe’s leading centres for formulation technology. Processes such as fluid bed granulation and microencapsulation, brought to industrial maturity by Kwizda Agro together with international partners, are still considered benchmarks to this day. Currently, Kwizda Agro is further developing these technologies specifically for biological crop protection and biocides.
Biological Solutions, Advice, and Data as One
Kwizda Agro increasingly builds on its formulation and development expertise to create its own biological products. Biological crop protection solutions pose special requirements in terms of formulation, application, and advisory services — requirements that Kwizda Agro addresses specifically.
This is complemented by digital services that further integrate advisory, data, and application. The digital platform “KX Kwizda Xperience” provides farmers and advisers with tools that combine weather data, disease forecasts, and crop protection planning by location, supporting operational decisions. “Innovation doesn't happen in the lab alone,” says Hamedl. “It only reveals its true value when it reaches the field. That’s precisely where we set our focus: with integrated solutions that bring together products, expertise, and data.”
Internationalisation as Long-Term Development
Kwizda Agro has gradually expanded its international presence over decades. As early as 1990 — before Austria's accession to the EU — the company started activities in Hungary. Market entry proceeded stepwise with dedicated teams, local partnerships, and the deliberate build-up of regional advisory expertise. Romania, Italy, and France followed. Today, Kwizda Agro operates in Austria and five other European countries, and has recently extended its activities to North America. In the USA and Canada, Kwizda Agro established its own organization with local field teams, scientific support, and long-term partnerships, rather than relying on short-term sales. As a result, products such as “TRICO®” were successfully transferred into new agricultural contexts..
The aim of this internationalisation is to responsibly bring proven technologies to new markets while learning from each local market. This strengthens resilience, customer proximity, and market understanding.
A Centenary With a Forward Vision
Kwizda Agro uses its centenary for strategic positioning. Under the guiding principle “Beyond Growth,” the company pursues an approach that redefines the limits of growth by focusing on biological solutions and digitalisation. Here, crop protection is not seen in isolation, but as part of a system encompassing productivity, biodiversity, and resource conservation. This vision serves as a basis for investments, portfolio decisions, and organisational development, providing strategic direction in an increasingly complex environment.
With its focus on biological active ingredients, the expansion of digital services, the structural embedding of sustainability in corporate strategy, and internal transformation programmes, Kwizda Agro demonstrates: biologicalisation, digitalisation, and geographic expansion are closely interlinked. “Looking back on 100 years of Kwizda Agro, it’s not about celebrating the past,” says Hamedl. “It’s about taking responsibility for the future and shaping growth so that it remains sustainable.”
About Kwizda Agro
Kwizda Agro is one of Austria’s leading providers of chemical and biological crop protection solutions and is part of the Kwizda corporate group. With 100 years of experience, the company develops innovative active ingredients and produces complex, high-quality formulations at its Leobendorf site. Today, the focus of product development is on purely biological crop protection products—a clear commitment to sustainability that is firmly anchored in the corporate strategy and consistently pursued at the Leobendorf and Tulln locations. Around 460 employees work for Kwizda Agro in Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain, Hungary, Romania, and the USA. Through an international network, the company supports crop protection users with digital, data-based services for site-specific and sustainable crop protection. In this way, Kwizda Agro makes a significant contribution to vital crops in agriculture and healthy gardens as places of recreation.
For more information, visit www.kwizda-agro.com.
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Press Contact:
Kapp Hebein Partner
Michaela Hebein
Email: mh@khpartner.at
Phone: +43 1 2350 422-70
Photos (publication free of charge, copyright: Kwizda Agro unless otherwise noted):
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Ronald Hamedl, Managing Director of Kwizda Agro, stands for the company’s strategic advancement — dedicated to bringing scientific innovation to agriculture effectively, safely, and practically.
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The Leobendorf plant in Lower Austria is one of Europe’s most technologically advanced formulation centres, combining research, formulation technology, and production under one roof.
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In research, Kwizda Agro develops innovative biological crop protection solutions and focuses on formulations that combine efficacy, application safety, and sustainability.
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The granulation technology at the Leobendorf plant was developed to industrial maturity by Kwizda Agro together with international partners and remains a technology benchmark to this day.
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The advisory team at Kwizda Agro combines scientific expertise with hands-on experience and supports farmers with integrated solutions encompassing products, knowledge, and digital services.
