INSECT INVESTIGATIONS LTD (I2L)
(article reproduced from the January 2005 edition of Crop Protection
Monthly)
Insect Investigations
is headquartered in
Cardiff, Wales, and has
recently opened a new facility in north east
England
in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. With links to other European countries, especially
Spain, the company is now able to manage entire field-testing programmes
and offers a multi-geographical field trials capability for its pest
control clients.
High Growth Welsh
company
The business was founded in 1989 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Cardiff University. A
management buyout by the directors and staff
followed in 2001
when the company
relocated to a new, purpose-built facility. In 2002,
Insect Investigations
expanded into new areas such as GLP non-target tier studies and was also
selected by the Welsh Development Agency as an official 'High Growth
Company' - a reflection of its significant achievements.
In the four years since the buyout,
Insect Investigations
has managed to double its turnover and expand its core GEP efficacy
business. The company is an Officially Recognised Testing Organisation
(ORETO) and has established GLP compliance for terrestrial ecotoxicology
studies.
New areas of activity
The company has also moved into the areas of resistance monitoring, regulatory
advice and herbicide testing. Through CARMS, the Cardiff Resistance
Monitoring Service, which
brings together the
facilities and expertise of
Insect
Investigations
with those
of
Cardiff
University's School of Biosciences,
the company
can now assist the pest control industry to monitor the effectiveness of
crop protection products and biocides. It can also offer impartial advice
on pesticide resistance management.
Rapid, responsive and reliable
Dr Peter McEwen, managing director, explains
that the success of Insect Investigations
can be encapsulated in just
three words “rapid, responsive, and reliable”, which appear on all the
company’s promotional material. He says that the company operates an ethos
of delivering excellent work, to tight deadlines, and of providing active
client feedback during the course of all projects.
Insect Investigations offers laboratory, glasshouse, simulated field (including caged arena)
and field trials for all sectors of the arthropod and mollusc pest control
industry. Its field trials capability extends to GEP and GLP studies for
numerous sectors, including:
-
agriculture
-
animal
health (including houseflies and poultry mites in animal houses)
-
public health
(flies, ants, roaches etc)
-
horticulture
(including apple orchard pests)
-
veterinary
(including sheep blow fly)
-
ecotoxicology &
non-target arthropods.
Trials are all undertaken to a high standard. The company
has also been closely involved in environmental monitoring of insect
pests, including for example outbreaks of chironomid midges.
According to Dr McEwen,
Insect Investigations
sees field trials as a major growth area in the next few years and is
constantly improving this capability. The recent opening of the
Newcastle
office, and the links that it is forming with other European CROs,
demonstrates its commitment to this area of the business. In time, the
company aims to become the leading European product testing and
development centre for the pest control industry.
|
