International seed giant Pioneer Hi-Bred plans to regionalize its Canadian business, ahead of an increase in its Canadian staffing.

The Chatham, Ont.-based Canadian arm of the Des Moines, Iowa firm -- itself a subsidiary of U.S. chemical company DuPont -- said Tuesday it will realign its operations into Eastern and Western Canada business units, each with its own sales, marketing, production and research troops.

"The addition of two dedicated commercial units will deliver more focused and defined market approaches for our growers in the East and West," Ian Grant, president of the Canadian operations, said in a release.

The Pioneer Hi-Bred Canadian head office and "a number of national positions" will also relocate from Chatham to DuPont Canada's new headquarters, expected to open this fall in Mississauga.

"A shared Canadian headquarters improves integration and alignment within DuPont," Grant said.

Bryce Eger has been named business director for the Eastern Canada commercial unit, having come to the company in 2009 as the national sales manager. The eastern commercial unit will be based in Chatham.

Greg Stokke will be business director for the Western Canada commercial unit, having joined Pioneer in 2005 as an account manager and, more recently, working as its marketing manager for Western Canada. Pioneer's new western unit will operate out of Saskatoon.

Pioneer said it also plans to add positions in Canada over the next five years including agronomists, research scientists, production technicians and salespeople.

The company, which since 2008 has doubled its Canadian staff to over 400, expects to add about 4,000 positions over the next five years globally.

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