Purdue, Dow AgroSciences, state officials celebrate opening of new seed quality control lab

More than 150 people attended the Dow AgroSciences Seed Quality Lab dedication Tuesday (April 24) in the Purdue Research Park of West Lafayette. Cutting the ribbon are from left Chandler Poole, City of West Lafayette director of development; Jay T. Akridge, Purdue Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture; Charles E. Sparks, Indiana Economic Development Corp. vice president; Dana Mathes, Dow AgroSciences LLC global leader of operations; and Antonio Galindez, Dow AgroSciences president and CEO. Joseph B. Hornett, senior vice president, treasurer and COO of the Purdue Research Foundation, is standing in back. (Photo provided by Purdue Research Foundation)

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The Dow AgroSciences Seed Quality Control Lab will enable the future capacity and capabilities needed to support the growing Dow AgroSciences seeds business, as well as serve as a proving ground for its next-generation technologies. The seed lab occupies 35,000 square feet of the Innovation Center building in Purdue Research Park of West Lafayette and supports 16 full-time positions and 32 temporary jobs.

"Dow AgroSciences is committed to developing technologies that help address the challenges of feeding the world's growing population, and the move to the Purdue Research Park underscores our relationship with Purdue University while supporting our overall growth strategy," said Antonio Galindez, president and CEO of Dow AgroSciences. "The new seed quality lab allows us to implement additional testing technology and capabilities, and provides closer collaborations with scientists at our Indianapolis world headquarters."

Work at the new seed quality control lab includes seed germination testing, genetic purity testing and trait purity testing, with an overall goal of improving seed quality for crops.

"The important partnership among Dow AgroSciences, Purdue, West Lafayette and Indiana is exemplified in the opening of the new seed lab and in the success of Dow's other research facility and greenhouse in the Purdue Research Park," said Joseph B. Hornett, senior vice president, treasurer and COO of the Purdue Research Foundation, which manages the Purdue Research Park. "We look forward to this expanded collaboration with Dow AgroSciences the ongoing opportunities this provides for Purdue and for the State of Indiana."

Suresh Garimella, Purdue’s associate vice president for engagement, speaks during Tuesday’s (April 24) Dow AgroSciences LLC dedication in the Purdue Research Park of West Lafayette. Dow AgroSciences has opened a 35,000-square-foot seed quality control lab in the park’s Innovation Center.

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Jay Akridge, the Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture, said Dow AgroSciences is a global leader in seed research and development.

"Dow AgroSciences is one of the world's premier agricultural research and development organizations and we are fortunate to have them headquartered in Indiana and close to Purdue, Indiana's land-grant institution," he said. "They are an important research partner for our College and we have several Purdue students working as interns with Dow AgroSciences in the Purdue Research Park."

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation, City of West Lafayette and the Tippecanoe County Commissioners worked with the Purdue Research Foundation to bring the Dow AgroSciences seed testing lab to Indiana.

"As a nationally recognized hub for the life sciences, this new facility will provide our state's entrepreneurs with ground-breaking technology to foster continued growth and advancement in Indiana," said Dan Hasler, Secretary of Commerce and chief executive officer of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. "We're grateful to have two world-class organizations like Purdue and Dow, which continue to provide the framework for innovation."

West Lafayette Mayor John Dennis said that the Dow AgroSciences Seed Quality Control Lab enhances the economic diversity of the city. The city provided over $300,000 in lease and tax abatement incentives to bring the facility to the area.

Natae Daniels, Dow AgroSciences genetic purity lab coordinator, crushes corn kernels for seed quality testing at the new Dow AgroSciences Seed Quality Lab in the Purdue Research Park of West Lafayette. Dow AgroSciences dedicated the new 35,000-square-foot seed quality lab on Tuesday (April 24). (Photo provided by Purdue Research Foundation)

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"Our community works closely with the park and other economic development organizations to ensure that we continue to grow and diversify our economy," Dennis said "The dedication of the Dow AgroSciences' lab is another example of how much the West Lafayette area benefits by having the Purdue Research Park."

Tippecanoe County provided $20,000 in job training and recruitment through the training loan/grant program administered by Greater Lafayette Commerce.

"Tippecanoe County is a leader in agriculture and having a company like Dow AgroSciences in our county is important," said Tom Murtaugh, Tippecanoe County Commissioner president. "Job training grants such as this one provide a strong incentive and support the professional development of our county's workforce."

The seed testing lab will be an addition to the current Dow AgroSciences presence in the Purdue Research Park of West Lafayette, which includes a 15,000-square-foot research and development space and an 11,000-square-foot greenhouse complex leased by Dow AgroSciences for life sciences research. To help fund the life sciences research project in 2010, the IEDC provided a $2.2 million grant to the Purdue Research Foundation to assist in the construction of the greenhouse.

Dow AgroSciences, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, develops leading-edge crop protection and plant biotechnology solutions to meet the challenges of the growing world. Dow AgroSciences is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Co. and had annual global sales of $5.7 billion in 2011. Learn more at www.dowagro.com. Follow Dow AgroSciences on Facebook and YouTube or subscribe to our News Release RSS Feed.

The 725-acre Purdue Research Park of West Lafayette has the largest university-affiliated business incubation complex in the country. The park is home to more than 160 companies. About 100 of these firms are technology-related and another 39 are incubator businesses. The park is owned and managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, a private, nonprofit foundation created to assist Purdue University in the area of economic development. In addition to the Purdue Research Park of West Lafayette, the foundation has established technology parks in other locations around Indiana including Indianapolis, Merrillville and New Albany. Statewide, the Purdue Research Park network has 200 companies that provide 4,000 high-tech jobs for Indiana residents.

Media contacts:

Robyn Heine, Dow AgroSciences LLC, 317-337-4807, rheine@dow.com

Katelyn Hancock, Indiana Economic Development Corp., (317) 234-2294 or kahancock@iedc.in.gov

Cynthia Sequin, Purdue Research Foundation, 765-588-3340, casequin@prf.org