By LINDA McGURK
Indiana Correspondent

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — While the slumping economy is forcing many companies to downsize, Indianapolis-based Dow AgroSciences is growing. In a deal that has been in the making for nearly a year, the company recently announced it will expand its biotechnology division and become a key tenant at the Purdue University Research Center in West Lafayette.

“The work is related to our biotechnology platform and it will focus on the early stages of the discovery process,” said Kenda Resler-Friend, a Dow AgroSciences spokesperson.

Dow AgroSciences will join nearly 170 existing tenants at the research park and will occupy 15,000 square feet of research and office space in the newly-built Herman and Heddy Kurz Purdue Technology Center. The company, which specializes in crop protection, pest and vegetation management, seeds, traits and agricultural biotechnology, will also occupy a 6,000 square-foot greenhouse facility that’s being built to Dow’s specifications.

“We hope to be into the greenhouse by next spring, so this is happening pretty quickly,” Resler-Friend said.

The company plans to hire up to 30 researchers and 18 contract research workers from the surrounding communities to run the new facilities. “It’s a nice win for the West Lafayette community,” she said.

The $2.2 million greenhouse facility will be constructed for the Purdue Research Park using grant funding from the Indiana Economic Development Corp. (IEDC), and will in turn be leased by Dow AgroSciences.

“It’s a state-of-the-art facility,” said  Joseph B. Hornett, senior vice president, treasurer and chief operating officer of the Purdue Research Foundation. “You wouldn’t think that a greenhouse would cost much to build, but the cost has actually been higher for it than for the lab space. It will be a showcase facility for some time to come.”

Mitch Roob, Indiana Secretary of Commerce and CEO of the IEDC, said the project meets the objectives of the state’s economic strategy to promote the growth and commercialization of key research developments.

“Bringing together the agriculture and biotechnology strengths of both Dow AgroSciences and Purdue makes perfect sense, and we are happy to support their future success,” Roob said in a statement.

Resler-Friend said Purdue and Dow AgroSciences have a long track record of fruitful collaborations, and the new facilities will strengthen that partnership. The proximity to the company’s headquarters in Indianapolis also helped Purdue land the deal.

“It’s a really nice, collaborative environment,” she said about the campus. “We’re going to have access to the whole College of Agriculture and its 23 research facilities. Purdue has the full package.”

Dow AgroSciences announced in July that it’s expanding its Indianapolis campus by building a new 80,000 square-foot office and laboratory complex. The company plans to add 100 scientists once those facilities have been completed.

Resler-Friend said the Purdue lease agreement is another example of the company implementing its growth strategy. And the underlying factors for expansion – population growth and rising demand for meat in China and other developing nations – mean the company is poised for more of the same.

“We’re in growth mode,” she said. “We’re going to need 70 percent more food to feed the world by 2050 and technology is the only answer.”