On January 22, 2019, Germains Seed Technology held a grand opening to celebrate the completion of their new organic automated processing facility and Research and Development Lab in Gilroy. Germains invested over $7 million in the construction of a new 37,500 sq ft certified organic facility.
In addition to the new processing operations, Germains also purchased and renovated the former Farotte Construction building on Casey Street in Gilroy as its second Research lab. Today Germains has 49 full-time employees of which 8 are full-time scientists and research support staff. Germains now has two state of the art laboratories dedicated to research and development of new organic and conventional seed treatments for vegetables and sugarbeets that will benefit farmers throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Established in Los Angeles California in 1871, Germains now has eight locations in both North America and Europe. Acquired by Associated British Foods plc in 1990, Germains Seed Technology is a world leader in seed pellet and treatment technologies for both organic and conventional growers. In 2017, Germains Seed Technology launched ProBio SafeGuard, an organic seed treatment for spinach targeting early plant protection against Pythium (a soil-borne fungus disease) even before the plant emerges. The product has proven very successful in field testing, but production was limited due to space and capacity restrictions. Now, with the new processing facility, ProBio SafeGuard will be available to more organic growers throughout North America.
