Brandt Opens New Lab to Improve Quality Control
Brandt, a global agricultural company, completed a new 2,000 square foot formulations lab to help improve quality control as their production expands.
The new lab is located in their Pleasant Plains, Illinois, production facility and is six times larger than the previous lab there.
“A lot of proprietary new formulation development work and QC is done in Pleasant Plains,” says Brian Haschemeyer, director of discovery and innovation for Brandt. “The lab expansion will allow Brandt to develop better, more advanced products; to screen and produce new formulations more efficiently; and be able to run quality control tests faster.”
New instruments have also been introduced to the lab such as an ICP-OES machine and Nitrogen Analyzer, which allow the company to perform full fertilizer analysis and heavy metal screening.
Other new tools include a high-performance liquid chromatography machine, which analyzes the presence and concentration of plant growth regulators and bio-stimulants. It also added a new UV Vis dye analysis instrument to screen the quality and concentration of dyes and colorants.
“New products are our lifeblood,” says Bill Engel, executive vice president of Brandt. “We continue to make significant investments in our business to ensure that we are able to bring innovations to the market our customers want. And it goes without saying that we are committed to always delivering high quality products.”
Brandt operates five labs including the one in Illinois and is constructing a sixth lab in Visalia, California that is expected to open in April.
