Chicago, IL, September 5th, 2019 – Mérieux NutriSciences, a world leader in the field of Food Safety and Quality, today announces the acquisition of a majority holding in Advanced Laboratory Testing (ALT), a company offering premium microbiology and chemistry testing services to the food industry in Ireland.

Advanced Laboratory Testing (ALT) was established in 2013 in Newbridge, County Kildare and provided for the first time in Ireland, a full range of local laboratory testing services to the food industry. ALT is the leading player of the food testing market, offering technical expertise within the fields of Food Microbiology, Environmental testing, and Food Chemistry, including allergen, residue and nutritional testing. The company operates 2 labs strategically located in Newbridge (Microbiology lab) and Naas (Chemistry lab).

With the acquisition of ALT, Mérieux NutriSciences enters the Irish food safety market and consolidates its presence in Europe. This operation is aligned with Mérieux NutriSciences’ strategy and will enable to better serve its Global Key Accounts present in Ireland, complementary to ALT customer portfolio. 

“This acquisition provides Mérieux NutriSciences with a solid entry point into the flourishing Irish food safety market and an excellent basis for growth in the region” said Philippe Sans, President & CEO of Mérieux NutriSciences. “Both companies share the same spirit and pursue the same goals of continual expansion to always serve clients with the highest quality standards”.

“We are very enthusiastic to join the Mérieux NutriSciences group and thus benefit from their strong expertise and global reputation” said Billy Coleman, Managing Director of ALT “Mérieux NutriSciences and ALT are highly complementary and we have much to gain by putting together our knowledge and experience”.

Mérieux NutriSciences has acquired 75% of the shares of ALT. The company has 92 employees and generated sales in excess of €7 million in 2018 with continued very strong double-digit growth year-on-year.