Cawood, the UK’s largest provider of analytical laboratory testing services for the land-based industries, has announced another acquisition, the agricultural and environmental testing laboratory, IAS Laboratories.
IAS provides a range of water, soil, crop tissue, silage, sludge and effluent analysis services for the agricultural and environmental sectors. The new acquisition fits perfectly into Cawood’s Agriculture and Environmental business units, complementing the activities of NRM, which provides independent laboratory analysis for land-based industries.
“I would like to give a warm welcome to David O’Connell, the IAS management team, and all our new colleagues to Cawood,” said Simon Parrington, Cawood’s group CEO. “While NRM delivers agronomic and environmental analysis throughout the UK, we have long desired our own laboratory location in Ireland. We are delighted to now have a laboratory nearer one of our major markets to expand the tests available to Irish farmers.”
Decades of experience
Located in Bagenalstown in Co Carlow, Ireland, IAS employs 20 people comprising management, administration, and qualified laboratory personnel. IAS has decades of experience servicing Irish agriculture and can trace its roots back to the Irish Sugar Company. IAS has recently moved into the environmental monitoring sector and will now operate as a division of Cawood.
“We are looking forward to joining Cawood and working together to build both our businesses.” said Mr O’Connell, managing director of IAS. “Being part of the group means accelerated investment for IAS, helping us to extend our capabilities and capacity for our customers. We are committed to continual innovation and development to meet the needs of our customers with high quality services. This new partnership will help us do this even more effectively.”
“Both Cawood and our new parent company, Ensign-Bickford Industries, are looking forward to helping David and the team grow the business within Ireland,” continued Mr Parrington: “IAS and its customers will also benefit some of our recent innovative projects, developed by NRM following consultations with industry experts, customers, and government advisors. Services like CarbonCheck for measuring soil carbon, GrainCheck for determining grain nutrient offtake, and N-Check for measuring soil mineral nitrogen, are three packages designed to help farmers and advisors optimise crop production and benchmark soil health. So, this acquisition fits perfectly with our strategy of extending our capacity to help customers meet their goals and support a safer, healthier planet.”
