A new building development by PGG Wrightson Seeds at AgResearch’s Lincoln campus is a significant step forward for both parties, and for the burgeoning research and innovation hub in the Canterbury town, leaders of the two organisations say.
PGG Wrightson Group General Manager Seed and Grain John McKenzie says it makes good sense for his company to join its key research and business partners.
The new PGG Wrightson Seeds (PGW Seeds) building is on the Springs Road frontage of the AgResearch campus opposite Lincoln University.
The building is intended to house 90 staff from the PGW Seeds team, placing them in close proximity to key partners AgResearch, Lincoln University, and Plant and Food Research.
Mr McKenzie said collaboration is a fundamental part of the way the company does business.
“Moving our Christchurch office-based team to Lincoln provides our staff with the opportunity to work even more closely and interact with our key partners. In addition, being based in Lincoln will expose our operation to Lincoln University students and provide more opportunity for post graduate students to work with us.”
AgResearch chief executive Tom Richardson said this investment by PGW Seeds further advanced the innovation precinct concept proposed by AgResearch in its campus development strategy, which aims to enable “more seamless collaboration between students, academics, researchers and business”.
“Having these two significant new facilities being built in parallel is creating a real buzz of activity and anticipation. Our vision is suddenly becoming tangible for many and we’re pleased with the approaches we are getting from businesses enquiring about options to join us here in Lincoln.
“Our plan has always been to catalyse a rejuvenation of the wider Lincoln precinct by our significant investment and staff movements to Lincoln and the PGW Seeds development is a major milestone towards this.”
Working closely together would facilitate better research and an even more skilled workforce to support the land-based industries in New Zealand into the future.
The new PGW Seeds building is expected to be completed in mid-2019.
Source: AgResearch
