Our 'home grown' products
In Australia, Boehringer Ingelheim owns and manages several farms that grow the native Australian plant Duboisia, from which alkaloids are extracted, one of which is used in the production of Buscopan®, our well known Consumer Health Care product, and several others - which means these products are proudly 'home-grown'!
About our farms
The Duboisia tree thrives in coastal forests from southern New South Wales to Northern Queensland. It is in this region, where the coastal ranges meet the red soil, that in 1976 Boehringer Ingelheim has established its own Duboisia plantations.
Since then we have acquired several other properties, bringing the total acreage of our properties to around 990 hectares. Together, these plantations ensure the stable supply of botanical raw materials needed to manufacture the pharmaceutical active ingredients.
The leaf of the Duboisia tree is harvested, dried and packaged in Australia, and then shipped to the Chemicals division of Boehringer Ingelheim in Germany, where extraction of active ingredients takes place.
How we operate
Locally, we employ around 17 permanent staff, including agronomists, managers, nursery staff, mechanics and field personnel, with additional seasonal contract staff employed as needed.
Staff training is an important part of overall operations, with particular emphasis placed on safe farming practices and environmental sustainability.
In order to ensure the long-term viability of the land, we implement innovative land management techniques including crop rotation and special trails to maximise soil conversation while minimising chemical dependence. Marginal land unsuited to crop cultivation is being repopulated wtih native species.
