The Municipal Bureau of Science and Technology recently designated Suzhou FMC Plant Protective Agents Co., Ltd. in Shengpu Township, SIP, as an agricultural hi-tech enterprise. The company is a joint venture set up in 1994 by US-based FMC Corporation and Suzhou Chemical Group Co., Ltd. FMC Corporation is a Fortune-500 multinational chemical company dedicated to the research and production of innovative, market-leading chemicals. The plant in Shengpu Township chiefly produces pesticide and herbicide, and other related agricultural chemical products of advanced international standards. In 2007, the company was certified as new and hi-tech enterprise of Jiangsu Province by Provincial Bureau of Science and Technology.