PRINCETON, NJ (PRNewswire-FirstCall) — Covance Inc. (NYSE: CVD) today announced that it will create a nutritional chemistry and food safety laboratory in Battle Creek, Michigan. The new laboratory will support clients in the region across a wide range of testing, including a significant expansion of Covance's microbiological food safety testing capability.
The laboratory will be affiliated with the new National Center for Food Protection (NCFP) in Battle Creek. The NCFP is a global food protection resource development and collaboration network initiated through the efforts of Battle Creek Unlimited, an economic development organization. The NCFP's mission is to enhance the safety of the global food supply by focusing on activities involving testing, inspection training, and technology development.
Covance will perform food testing, which will give all manufacturers access to the company's market-leading analytical chemistry, stability, and food safety testing services. In addition, a Covance representative will serve on the Advisory Board for the NCFP's Emerging Technology Accelerator initiative.
Covance plans to invest approximately $14 million to acquire and renovate a 30,000 square foot building on East Hamblin Avenue. The laboratory is expected to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2010, and will create approximately 40 new jobs over time. Covance expects to receive approximately $4.3 million in combined financial incentives from the state of Michigan and Battle Creek.
Covance, with headquarters in Princeton, NJ, is one of the world's largest and most comprehensive drug development and food testing companies with annual revenues greater than $1.7 billion, global operations in more than 25 countries, and more than 10,000 employees worldwide. Information on Covance's products and services, recent press releases, and SEC filings can be obtained through its website at www.covance.com.