A Danish producer of plant-protection products such as insecticides and herbicides will move its U.S. headquarters to Research Triangle Park, adding to the region's luster as an agribusiness center.

At the same time, one of the longtime anchors of the Triangle's agribusiness sector, Syngenta, is expanding its local presence by leasing space in RTP's One Park Drive -- which just happens to be the same building that will house Cheminova, the Danish company.

In addition to Syngenta, major agribusiness companies with operations in the Triangle include Bayer CropScience, BASF and Arysta.

"Agribusiness companies like what they see around them," Steven Burke, senior vice president at the N.C. Biotechnology Center, said in a prepared statement. "Everything they need for business success grows in North Carolina."

Cheminova will begin its move to RTP in August and expects to have 18 employees here in September, said Martin Petersen, the company's regional president.

The company is shifting its headquarters for what it calls the ANZAC region -- Australia, New Zealand, America (the U.S.) and Canada -- from Wayne, N.J.

A handful of employees will make the move from New Jersey. The remainder -- ranging from entry-level customer service personnel to a regional marketing manager -- will be new hires, Petersen said.

Cheminova is enjoying a growth phase -- both organically and through acquisitions -- and wanted to move to a place where it could recruit quality workers, Petersen said. That made the critical mass of agribusiness companies in the Triangle a major draw.

Petersen declined to say what other locations Cheminova considered. Cheminova, which generated $911 million in revenue last year, saw its first-quarter revenue jump 33 percent compared with a year ago.

Cheminova is leasing about 9,500 square feet in One Park Drive, a four-story, 75,000-square-foot building. Syngenta is leasing nearly 20,000 square feet, according to Grubb & Ellis/Thomas Linderman Graham, which represents landlord One Park Drive LLC.

The two deals combined will push occupancy at the building from 59 percent to 80 percent, said Elizabeth Raiford, vice president of marketing and research at Grubb & Ellis. Occupancy suffered last year when Liggett Vector Brands, the marketing subsidiary of cigarette brands such as Liggett Select and Eve, exited the building.

Switzerland-based Syngenta's global biotechnology research and development headquarters is on Cornwallis Road in RTP, where the company employs 300 workers. The company plans to shift about 80 administrative workers to One Park Drive to free laboratory space at its Cornwallis Road complex, spokeswoman Jane Bachmann said.

The expanding company added more than 60 workers last year and has more than 35 openings.

"The Triangle is an ideal location for us, as it is close to universities and other institutions, providing excellent opportunities for networking and scientific interaction," Bill Hlavac, head of site operations for Syngenta Biotechnology, said in a prepared statement.