Intertek, a UK-based quality assurance and testing services provider, has launched an AgriTech laboratory in Hyderabad.
The 130-year-old company, has a long history of acquisitions – including the legendary inventor Thomas Edison’s Electrical Testing Laboratories – registered a turnover of £2.1 billion last year.
It has over 1,000 laboratories in 100 countries with over 40,000 employees.
The firm’s new laboratory in Hyderabad would provide DNA analyses for seed firms assisting them in their research projects.
The laboratory, with permission from the Department of Biotechnology, will cater to the needs of seed firms in crop testing, pathogen testing, livestock and commodity testing.
This is the first such laboratory in India and fourth in the world for the company.
“The laboratory enables customers to access technology services consistent with Intertek ScanBi Diagnostics in Sweden, which is a certified laboratory for several major seed companies,” Valentin Rossel, Global Business Line Leader – Agricultural Services at Intertek, said, after launching the laboratory here on Friday.
The firm, however, refuses to disclose the investments made in the laboratory at its Hyderabad facility.
“We have about 15 clients as of today,” he said.
The agriculture tech vertical contributes about 10-15 per cent to the overall revenues of the company.
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