DuPont’s ag spinoff will be headquartered in Wilmington

While 1,700 people are still picking themselves up from the blow of DuPont merger layoffs, DowDuPont laid some pretty good news on Delaware Friday morning: Its agriculture spinoff company will be headquartered in Wilmington.
That means that two of the three spinoff companies (the other is the specialty products company) created as a result from the mega merger will be in Delaware.
The combined revenue of those two companies, according to Gov. Jack Markell’s office, is projected be larger than the today’s DuPont company.
That’s good news.
But how much this helps with job creation (or retention) gets a little fuzzy and remains to be clarified. The Wilmington office will include the CEO’s office and “key corporate support functions.” No word yet on ag scientists or engineers. DuPont said the company will be a combination of Dow and DuPont’s Seeds and Crop Protection businesses.
Meanwhile, what DuPont is calling Global Business Centers will be in Indianapolis (they’re bummed they didn’t land the HQ, according to this Indy Star report) and Johnston, Iowa. That includes “leadership of business lines, business support functions, R&D, global supply chain, and sales and marketing capabilities,” according to DuPont’s release.
But here’s some more possible good news: The Delaware Economic Development Office has submitted a strategic fund grant — worth up to $9.6 million, mostly from matching funds capital expenditure assistance — if the company spends at least $200 million in the state over the next five years.
Edward Breen, DuPont’s chairman and CEO, had some encouraging words in DuPont’s announcement: “As we advance plans for the intended merger, DuPont and the state of Delaware are committed to leveraging our respective science infrastructures and competencies to nurture the emerging science and technology innovation hub in the state.”
Overall, just about every politician and high-ranking official in Delaware expressed happiness at the announcement. Here are snippets of some of them:

• Gov. Markell: “This announcement is a win for Delaware.”
• U.S. Sen. Tom Carper: “The decision … is welcomed news.”
• U.S. Sen. Chris Coons: “We needed some good news today, and we got it. … While we aren’t entirely out of the woods yet, this is a positive sign that the leadership of DowDuPont remains committed in this important sector to their roots as a Delaware company.”
• U.S. Rep. John Carney: “This decision is a win for our state, and most importantly, for the employees who will fill these jobs.”
• State House Minority Whip Deborah Hudson: “This is a coup.We could have easily lost this headquarters to a Midwest farm state.”
• New Castle County Executive Thomas Gordon: “I hope that this decision brings a bit of certainty to some of the families who have been unsure what the future looked like.”