23 September 2011

Eurofins Scientific, the global leader in food and feed testing, inaugurates today a 3,000 m² extension to its laboratory in Nantes, France. The extension was completed in early summer and turns Eurofins Nantes into the largest single-site independent food testing laboratory in the world, with 11,500 m² total laboratory surface and capacity to analyse up to 1 million samples per year with a broad range of technologies. 

The project was part of Eurofins’ recently-concluded investment programme to bring the majority of its network into large and modern world class laboratories. The Nantes site incorporates the latest state-of-the-art technology, combined with analysis and automation tools developed in-house to ensure high sample throughput in optimal conditions. The benefits should be reflected in high quality testing analysis with short turn-around-times (TAT) for customers, and increased efficiency, and hence profitability, for the Group.

In addition to being the largest single-site food laboratory, Eurofins Nantes also offers a unique concentration of complementary know-how and technologies in food testing to assure the safety, identity, composition, authenticity, origin and purity of food and feed products. The wide range of analytical methods and technologies used in the laboratory include nutritional chemistry and molecular biology (GMOs, allergens), mass spectrometry, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, DNA sequencing, etc. This comprehensive breadth of service offering is exceptional for a single-site food testing laboratory, and provides the Group with a compelling suite of services to offer to both new and existing clients. 

François Vigneau, General Manager for Eurofins Food Testing in France, comments: “Eurofins is proud to have completed this project as planned. This was achieved through our commitment to our vision of excellence in our field, and with the collaboration of the local community. We are indeed in a fortunate position to be able to leverage this unique facility for the benefit of our customers, and continue to support the growth of the Eurofins Group.”

The site in Nantes is one of the flagship food and feed testing laboratories within the Eurofins network. The extension is part of the investment programme that included the construction and modernization of a total of 150,000 m² of laboratory surface between 2006 and 2011 to ensure that the Group has the largest and most technologically-advanced laboratory network in the world serving the food and pharmaceutical industries.

For further information please contact:

François Vigneau

Managing Director, Eurofins Food Testing France

FrancoisVigneau@eurofins.com

Phone: +33 2 51 83 21 00

Investor Relations

ir@eurofins.com                                                             

Phone: +32 2 769 7383                                                 

Notes for the editor:

Eurofins – a global leader in bio-analysis

Eurofins Scientific is the world leader in food and pharmaceutical products testing. It is also number one in the world in the field of environmental laboratory services and one of the global market leaders in agroscience, genomics and central laboratory services.

With about 9,500 staff in more than 150 laboratories across 30 countries, Eurofins offers a portfolio of over 100,000 reliable analytical methods for evaluating the safety, identity, composition, authenticity, origin and purity of biological substances and products. The Group provides its customers with high quality services, accurate results in time and expert advice by its highly qualified staff.

Eurofins is committed to pursuing its dynamic growth strategy by expanding both its technology portfolio and its geographic reach. Through R&D and acquisitions, the Group draws on the latest developments in the field of biotechnology and analytical chemistry to offer its clients unique analytical solutions and the most comprehensive range of testing methods.

As one of the most innovative and quality oriented international players in its industry, Eurofins is ideally positioned to support its clients’ increasingly stringent quality and safety standards and the expanding demands of regulatory authorities around the world.

The shares of Eurofins Scientific are listed on the NYSE Euronext Paris Stock Exchange (ISIN FR0000038259, Reuters EUFI.PA, Bloomberg ERF FP).

Important disclaimer:

This press release contains forward-looking statements and estimates that involve risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements and estimates contained herein represent the judgement of Eurofins Scientific’ management as of the date of this release. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees for future performance, and the forward-looking events discussed in this release may not occur. Eurofins Scientific disclaims any intent or obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements and estimates. All statements and estimates are made based on the data available to the Company as of the date of publication, but no guarantee can be made as to their validity.