Would you acquire a business you hadn’t seen?
In 2021, in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, a ‘blind’ opportunity presented itself to the Eurofins team in Australia. They heard that a competing food and water microbiology laboratory in Queensland was due for closure, with its employees set to face redundancy.
In this article, Sarah Thévenet, former Managing Director of Eurofins Australia New Zealand Holding Pty Ltd, recalls the story of how the company formerly known as Biotech Laboratories joined the Eurofins network at a time when Eurofins teams outside of Queensland could not travel across Australian state borders.
It all started when a Eurofins Business Unit Manager received a phone call from Biotech Laboratories, a competing food and water microbiology laboratory in Queensland, Australia. The company was closing down.
Faced with potential redundancy, the employees at Biotech Laboratories were keen to salvage the business they were passionate about.
Demonstrating entrepreneurial prowess, they started investigating potential buyers and proposed the idea of joining the Eurofins network.
“We had limited presence in the food and water testing market in Australia at the time,” says Sarah Thévenet.
Fortunately, the Eurofins team in Australia had 500m² of laboratory space to spare in Brisbane, Queensland. Showing exceptional entrepreneurial spirit, they saw a golden chance to establish a regional presence in Food and Feed Testing and extend their Water Testing capabilities.
“Our team reached out to the owners of Biotech Laboratories, who agreed to change their plans to close the company and instead join the Eurofins network,” Sarah recalls.
There was only one catch: the Biotech laboratory was still due for closure, so the empty laboratory space in Brisbane had to be fitted out within six weeks. Seems impossible, right?
“What complicated things further was the closure of state borders within Australia due to the COVID-19 pandemic… meaning Eurofins teams outside of Queensland couldn’t travel to the new premises.”
“Several other companies were initially interested in acquiring the company, but gave up due to the timeframe and risk of failure, as all the Biotech staff and clients had already been informed of the closure," Sarah explains.
“We were the only ones who reacted quickly enough and were ready to take the risk!”
Together with employees from the newly acquired company, Eurofins team members based in Queensland began fitting out the empty space.
“Even once the laboratory fit-out was complete, we only had one weekend to relocate everything and everyone,” Sarah reflects.
Sarah adds that “the laboratory had to be fully operational the following Monday, without compromising on quality and due process.”
The final result, achieved in just six weeks, was a brand-new microbiology facility with an efficient logistics system, giving Biotech and its employees a new home as part of the Eurofins network.
“Thanks to the proactiveness of the employees at Biotech, no one had to face redundancy and the Eurofins network gained a new cohort of dedicated, talented team members,” Sarah concludes.