It has been announced today that InVivo, the largest agricultural co-operative group in France, and a leading player in the industry globally, has formally signed an agreement to acquire a 50% stake in Life Scientific, an Irish R&D company which specialises in off-patent crop protection products.
As a result of this new partnership Life Scientific plans to create 20 new, predominantly research and development jobs, over the next 5-years, at its headquarters at NovaUCD, the Centre for New Ventures and Entrepreneurs at University College Dublin (UCD).
Life Scientific, with an annual turnover of over €10 million, was established by Nicola Mitchell in 1995. The company, which has well established links with UCD and with Enterprise Ireland over many years, currently employs 20 people at NovaUCD who are predominantly scientists and educated to PhD level.
The formal signing ceremony, coordinated by Enterprise Ireland, took place at an event organised by the Irish Embassy in Paris earlier this week to mark St. Patrick's Day, and was attended by Richard Bruton TD, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason.
InVivo, with revenues of €5.7 billion and employing 8,800 people in 28 countries, is a union of 223 farming co-operatives and has combined membership of over 300,000 farmers. The remit of InVivo, the largest buyer of agrochemicals in Europe, is to work together with its member co-operatives to develop sustainable and profitable solutions enabling farmers to secure their production and revenue.
Minister Bruton said, "Driving innovation and research within businesses is a national priority and a key part of the Government's Action Plan for Jobs. Life Scientific is a highly innovative and ambitious Irish R&D company specialising in bringing high quality off-patent crop protection products to market. This significant partnership with InVivo, the largest agricultural co-operative group in France, clearly demonstrates the calibre of Life Scientific's innovative products, and provides a great example of the type of ambitious companies my Department supports through Enterprise Ireland. This announcement also provides a tangible example of the benefits of our plan to support exporting companies. I warmly congratulate Life Scientific and InVivo on their recent alliance and wish them every success for the future."
RSS Feed
