JOHNSTON, IOWA (BNO NEWS) – Iowa Governor Chet Culver, joined by Pioneer President Paul Schickler, announced on Thursday that Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., will create 400 new jobs in Iowa.

Pioneer, a business of DuPont, will construct a new office and research and development facility at their Johnston campus. Such facility will cost $40 million and will include office space for 400 employees and state-of-the-art laboratories in multiple connected buildings covering 200,000 square feet.

“This important investment will bring 400 good-paying jobs of the future to Johnston. We are all excited about this example of new cutting edge high-tech jobs coming to Iowa, and my administration is proud to partner with Pioneer on this project. I want to thank Pioneer for making this commitment to our state, and I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come as together we move Iowa forward,” Governor Culver said during his visit to Pioneer headquarters.

The Iowa Department of Economic Development board met on Thursday to approve tax benefits through the High Quality Jobs Program for the project. The construction of the new facility will begin in September with occupancy early on 2012.