QCL is an environment and food analytical testing provider and dairy testing reference laboratory located 80 miles from the Lancaster Laboratories Environmental campus.
It employs 200 staff and generates annual revenues of about US$ 20m across two laboratories in Pennsylvania.
Experchem Laboratories, (Experchem), is an analytical testing service provider, with competence in nutraceuticals testing.
It employs about 95 staff at its laboratory in Toronto, and generates revenues in excess of CA$ 10m.
Eurofins in the US
Eurofins’ US revenues rose 29.6% to €356.9m in the firm’s 2014 results which makes up over 25% of the total.
It completed a southern food testing hub in New Orleans, and launched construction of four additional food testing laboratories across the country.
The move was to strengthen its position in the US food testing market, which is supported by regulatory tailwinds, and its own growing scale.
Dr Gilles Martin, Eurofins CEO, said: “QCL’s competencies and geographical focus are a good fit to Eurofins’ food and environment testing footprint in the US.
“This acquisition is a further demonstration of Eurofins’ commitment to build the best and widest-reaching analytical testing network in the market.”
Dairy testing reputation
QCL offers analytical services to support commercial clients and government agencies to comply with federal and state regulatory programs.
Food testing services include microbiology and chemistry testing, with a strong reputation in local market for dairy testing.
In environmental testing, QCL’s analytical competencies include testing services for compliance with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) programs.
Nutraceutical testing
Experchem provides testing to pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries, with expertise in natural health products (NHPs), the Canadian equivalent of nutraceuticals, and functional foods and beverages.
Experchem's expertise, with Eurofins' neutracuticals testing competence center in Petaluma, California, should reinforce capabilities to benefit from growth in US nutraceuticals testing from increased regulations, said the firm.
Martin said the acquisition facilitates Eurofins' expansion into Canada and reinforces capabilities in key niche markets.
“In return, we look forward to providing Experchem access to the full capabilities of the Eurofins Group and our client relationships to further strengthen their position in the domestic market.”
In 2014, Eurofins completed the move of its central lab business from Washington DC to Lancaster, Pennsylanvia following the completion of the 7,250m2 extension bringing the surface to almost 30,000m2.
Part of the extension houses a food testing lab to serve as a hub for food microbiology testing activities in the northeast US.
In New Orleans, Eurofins moved to a lab with double the capacity with over 4,000m2 of lab surface. It serves as the food testing hub in the southeast and a competence centre for contaminants testing.