Queensland’s agribusiness industry is set to reap the rewards of advanced animal genomics and food safety services with Australia’s largest and most advanced laboratory opening in Ipswich.
Treasurer and Minister for Trade and Investment Cameron Dick said the rapidly growing demand for DNA testing in the livestock industry encouraged Neogen Australasia’s new $11 million Queensland investment.
“Thanks to support from the Queensland Government’s Advance Queensland Industry Attraction Fund, Neogen was able to relocate and expand into the new state-of-the-art facility at Bundamba,” Mr Dick said.
“Neogen is already performing up to one million scientific tests a year with its high-end genomic analysis tools and robotic processing, which more than doubles its previous capacity.
“This is great news for our state, particularly our prized beef industry, as Queensland is Australia’s largest beef producer with exports valued at $6.3 billion in the past 12 months to July 2022.”
Officiating at the facility opening, Member for Bundamba Lance McCallum said the 3,000 square metres of space had enabled Neogen to consolidate its other agribusiness operations in food and animal safety products and services.
“With warehousing, distribution and technical support also incorporated into the one purpose-built facility, Neogen is truly positioned for the future right here in our local Bundamba community,” Mr McCallum said.
“Neogen’s growth is creating good local jobs, with the expansion project to add 25 new technical and sales roles to the company’s staffing levels within five years.
“Already employing more than 60 personnel, Neogen is a great example of a Queensland success story that continues to reinvest and grow, providing highly valued services for every stage of the food supply chain.”
Neogen Australasia is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Neogen Corporation, a publicly listed food and animal safety company based in the United States, employing more than 1800 staff globally.
Neogen Australasia Senior Director Bobby Creasman said the new facility provided room to grow into the future and supported Neogen’s promise to positively impact the local, rural employment market and the agricultural industry.
“Neogen Australasia currently employs more than 60 staff and we expect to create at least another 25 new jobs in the next five years to ensure we can continue to meet the demands and expectations of Australia’s livestock producers and food processing companies,” Mr Creasman said.
“Our new Ipswich facility will be at the forefront of ensuring greater accessibility of genomic tools at improved value to producers, while providing more information across the livestock production value chain.
“This expansion, along with the merging of 3M’s Food Safety business with our existing operations, will lead Neogen into a new era of growth.
“Our investment in new facilities is in keeping with our commitment to our customers to continually invest in developing new and cutting-edge technologies that improve their livestock and food safety businesses.”
The Queensland Government is working with the private sector on significant, job-creating projects that are helping to diversify the economy right across the state.
Learn more about the investment programs that are supporting these high-impact projects and creating a new generation of high skilled jobs for Queenslanders.
