Leading Health and Life Sciences in Nova Scotia

Chronicle Herald: Nothing matters more than a safe return home

See original story here To Jean-Paul Deveau, president and CEO of Acadian Seaplants, there’s nothing more important than getting his employees home safely after a day’s work. “Without those 400 employees, there is no company,” says Deveau. Over his 30 years in the family business, two incidents stand out as dramatic reminders of the importance of safety. In both cases, seaweed harvesters went missing at sea. And, while they were eventually found safely, Deveau spent several anxious hours waiting for news. “It certainly makes it very personal when you receive a call that there is a fisherman missing and they’re out searching for them.” Despite the happy endings, those close calls underscored his firm belief that safety matters above all. “Safety needs to be placed in the forefront of all discussions and everyone in the company needs to be on board,” he says. “Safety is not a box you tick; it’s a way of life.” Deveau knows safety leadership requires taking responsibility for fostering a strong safety culture and putting in place effective initiatives to support it. Inspiring leaders do the right thing — even when it isn‘t easy. They take tangible steps to make their workplaces safer by raising awareness, ensuring employees are properly trained and seeing that appropriate procedures are put in place and consistently followed. Under Deveau’s watch, Acadian Seaplants now has a full-time safety officer, runs regular injury prevention and safety awareness programs and provides ongoing training for workers. And in 2012, the company received a Mainstay Award for its efforts. Everyone can take the lead on safety One thing Deveau has learned over the years is being a leader in workplace safety isn’t about job description; it’s about commitment. While employers need to take the lead, any worker in any role in any industry can and should step up on safety. That’s the underlying message in A Call to Lead, a safety video produced by WCB Nova Scotia and the Department of Labour and Advanced Education. “I will do all that I can, so you can do all that you can to make sure no one gets hurt,” is its call to action, inviting all of us to do our part to make our workplaces safer because “nothing matters more.” There are signs Nova Scotians are heeding the call. Over the past few years, there has been a steady improvement in the safety culture in Nova Scotia workplaces and a significant decrease in the number of workplace injuries. Today, there are 1.76 time-loss injuries per 100 covered workers, down from 2.57 in 2007. According to WCB Nova Scotia, more employers are also putting basic safety practices in place. In a 2017 survey, 72 per cent of workplaces reported having a health and safety program. But there’s still work to do. Safety leaders like Jean-Paul Deveau make safety matter by making it a priority. But they can’t do it alone. Success requires each one of us to make the choice to take safety seriously by following proper safety practices, reporting workplace hazards and responding appropriately to incidents. “Safety is everybody’s job, including me and every one of the 400 people who work in this company,” says Deveau. “We’re all in this together.” And when everyone works together, everyone gets to go home safe.   To find out how you can take the lead on safety, visit worksafeforlife.ca.]]>

How Acadian Seaplants became a global leader in seaweed

See original story here When Jean-Paul Deveau returned home to Nova Scotia in 1981 on summer break from McGill University, he discovered he had no bedroom. “I’m about to go put my stuff in my room and my mother stops me and says, ‘So, before you go upstairs . . . your father started a business and he’s running it out of your bedroom,’ ” the president and CEO of Acadian Seaplants Limited remembers. “ ‘So you’re welcome to stay here but you have to find some other place to sleep.’ ” His bedroom was the incubation laboratory for Acadian Seaplants, which today is the largest independent marine plant processing company in North America, with six processing plants spread across Atlantic Canada, Ireland and Scotland. It makes seaweed-based food, agricultural and chemical products, ranging from dehydrated “sea vegetables” for salad and pasta dishes to pet food to crop fertilizer to additives for brewing. Seaweed is plentiful around the Nova Scotia coastline, where the company is still headquartered. Deveau’s father, the 86-year-old Louis E. Deveau, was perhaps destined for a career in seaweed. As a kid growing up on the shores of Baie Sainte-Marie, Louis noticed his own father put goémon de roche (the Acadian term for the seaweed harvested from the rocky shoreline) on the family’s vegetable garden. The practice yielded excellent results and spurred his realization that the plentiful plants were rich in nutrients. His fascination with the sea plant’s potential resulted in Louis joining Marine Colloids, a subsidiary of the world’s largest carrageenan gum manufacturer, in 1967. He later led seaweed-connected businesses in the Philippines and Mexico before moving to New Jersey as a vice-president of Marine Colloids’ U.S. operations. He was soon appointed president of the company’s Canadian wing, where he was also responsible for sourcing seaweed around the globe. “He also spearheaded the development of an entirely new industry—seaweed farming in the Philippines and Indonesia, which today is a major industry in those countries,” notes the Acadian Seaplants website with pride. In 1981, already a seaweed expert, he decided to become a seaweed entrepreneur. It was a risky—and prescient—move. “There was no market for most of the products we make now,” Deveau says. “The market emerged afterwards.” And, in many instances, it was created by Louis. The company that would become Acadian Seaplants was originally a small, seasonal seaweed harvesting operation, based in Nova Scotia and owned by the parent company of Louis’s long-time employer. After Louis bought its Nova Scotian assets in 1981, the firm’s former owners became its first—and for several years only—customer. It wasn’t a bad way to start a business, but Louis quickly recognized the vulnerability and unsustainability of such a business plan. Meanwhile, Deveau was finishing his M.B.A. at McGill. When he came home in 1985, he still had no bedroom. Instead, his father presented him with the kind of job every freshly minted M.B.A. dreams of: there was no pay and high risk. But it had big potential, for either success or failure. “He said, ‘Do you want to see what we can build with this thing I’m running out of your bedroom?’ ” Deveau laughs. “ ‘We don’t have enough money to pay you, but let’s see what we can build.’ And off we went, and we never looked back.” The ability of both Deveaus to take calculated risks continues to define the multinational company’s culture in its fourth decade of operations. “What I really like about Acadian is they are not afraid,” says Derrick Dempster, a partner at Deloitte who works with Acadian in the Best Managed Companies program. “They operate in a number of countries, they continue to expand strategically and they’re open to taking risks in new environments. They take on those challenges and they create new markets for themselves as a consequence.” The Deveaus agree. Louis, from Acadian’s inception, applied a “long-play” business strategy, grounded in heavy investment in scientific research and developing new markets. Deveau believes the company’s current success is driven by four deceptively simple factors. They are all about investment: in research and development, in international market development, in sustainability and in people. These commitments were seeded by Louis on day one, and have been consistently nurtured ever since by father, son and an ever-expanding pool of talent. “We find the best people in the world and either bring them to Canada to have them work for us in Nova Scotia—we speak more than 10 languages in our facility here—or we base them throughout the world to represent our company in all the countries in which we operate,” says Deveau. The company now exports to more than 80 countries and has staff in 12 locations around the globe. Acadian’s talent strategy is guided by the same kind of long-term focus Louis brought to the seaweed business: nothing is about today. It’s not even about tomorrow—it’s about the next three, five or 10 years. Acadian tries to envision the future, and then it actively creates it. “I go to a lot of conferences and we are, of course, comparing ourselves to our competitors. And when we see that what we presented three years ago, other companies are doing now, we have to ask ourselves, immediately, what do we do next? What’s the potential, the next opportunity, the new market no one else is thinking about?” says Deveau. Indeed, how the company harvests its products is under constant evaluation and improvement. Hyper-competitive long-term thinking like that will continue to contribute to Acadian’s success. “They will continue to change and create new products,” says Dempster. “They really think of themselves as a learning organization, and they’ve created infrastructure to support that. They’re a Canadian business based in Nova Scotia, but they understand that their market is global.”]]>

MACLEAN'S: How Acadian Seaplants became a global leader in seaweed

See original story here When Jean-Paul Deveau returned home to Nova Scotia in 1981 on summer break from McGill University, he discovered he had no bedroom. “I’m about to go put my stuff in my room and my mother stops me and says, ‘So, before you go upstairs . . . your father started a business and he’s running it out of your bedroom,’ ” the president and CEO of Acadian Seaplants Limited remembers. “ ‘So you’re welcome to stay here but you have to find some other place to sleep.’ ” His bedroom was the incubation laboratory for Acadian Seaplants, which today is the largest independent marine plant processing company in North America, with six processing plants spread across Atlantic Canada, Ireland and Scotland. It makes seaweed-based food, agricultural and chemical products, ranging from dehydrated “sea vegetables” for salad and pasta dishes to pet food to crop fertilizer to additives for brewing. Seaweed is plentiful around the Nova Scotia coastline, where the company is still headquartered. Deveau’s father, the 86-year-old Louis E. Deveau, was perhaps destined for a career in seaweed. As a kid growing up on the shores of Baie Sainte-Marie, Louis noticed his own father put goémon de roche (the Acadian term for the seaweed harvested from the rocky shoreline) on the family’s vegetable garden. The practice yielded excellent results and spurred his realization that the plentiful plants were rich in nutrients. His fascination with the sea plant’s potential resulted in Louis joining Marine Colloids, a subsidiary of the world’s largest carrageenan gum manufacturer, in 1967. He later led seaweed-connected businesses in the Philippines and Mexico before moving to New Jersey as a vice-president of Marine Colloids’ U.S. operations. He was soon appointed president of the company’s Canadian wing, where he was also responsible for sourcing seaweed around the globe. “He also spearheaded the development of an entirely new industry—seaweed farming in the Philippines and Indonesia, which today is a major industry in those countries,” notes the Acadian Seaplants website with pride. In 1981, already a seaweed expert, he decided to become a seaweed entrepreneur. It was a risky—and prescient—move. “There was no market for most of the products we make now,” Deveau says. “The market emerged afterwards.” And, in many instances, it was created by Louis. The company that would become Acadian Seaplants was originally a small, seasonal seaweed harvesting operation, based in Nova Scotia and owned by the parent company of Louis’s long-time employer. After Louis bought its Nova Scotian assets in 1981, the firm’s former owners became its first—and for several years only—customer. It wasn’t a bad way to start a business, but Louis quickly recognized the vulnerability and unsustainability of such a business plan. Meanwhile, Deveau was finishing his M.B.A. at McGill. When he came home in 1985, he still had no bedroom. Instead, his father presented him with the kind of job every freshly minted M.B.A. dreams of: there was no pay and high risk. But it had big potential, for either success or failure. “He said, ‘Do you want to see what we can build with this thing I’m running out of your bedroom?’ ” Deveau laughs. “ ‘We don’t have enough money to pay you, but let’s see what we can build.’ And off we went, and we never looked back.” The ability of both Deveaus to take calculated risks continues to define the multinational company’s culture in its fourth decade of operations. “What I really like about Acadian is they are not afraid,” says Derrick Dempster, a partner at Deloitte who works with Acadian in the Best Managed Companies program. “They operate in a number of countries, they continue to expand strategically and they’re open to taking risks in new environments. They take on those challenges and they create new markets for themselves as a consequence.” The Deveaus agree. Louis, from Acadian’s inception, applied a “long-play” business strategy, grounded in heavy investment in scientific research and developing new markets. Deveau believes the company’s current success is driven by four deceptively simple factors. They are all about investment: in research and development, in international market development, in sustainability and in people. These commitments were seeded by Louis on day one, and have been consistently nurtured ever since by father, son and an ever-expanding pool of talent. “We find the best people in the world and either bring them to Canada to have them work for us in Nova Scotia—we speak more than 10 languages in our facility here—or we base them throughout the world to represent our company in all the countries in which we operate,” says Deveau. The company now exports to more than 80 countries and has staff in 12 locations around the globe. Acadian’s talent strategy is guided by the same kind of long-term focus Louis brought to the seaweed business: nothing is about today. It’s not even about tomorrow—it’s about the next three, five or 10 years. Acadian tries to envision the future, and then it actively creates it. “I go to a lot of conferences and we are, of course, comparing ourselves to our competitors. And when we see that what we presented three years ago, other companies are doing now, we have to ask ourselves, immediately, what do we do next? What’s the potential, the next opportunity, the new market no one else is thinking about?” says Deveau. Indeed, how the company harvests its products is under constant evaluation and improvement. Hyper-competitive long-term thinking like that will continue to contribute to Acadian’s success. “They will continue to change and create new products,” says Dempster. “They really think of themselves as a learning organization, and they’ve created infrastructure to support that. They’re a Canadian business based in Nova Scotia, but they understand that their market is global.”]]>

Acadian Seaplants Acquires Uist Asco

JUNE 6, 2017. DARTMOUTH, NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA –  Acadian Seaplants Limited (ASL) is pleased to announce that, on June 2nd, it acquired Uist Asco Ltd., located on the Island of North Uist, Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Uist Asco specializes in the harvesting and processing of Ascophyllum nodosum and has been operating for four years. “This region of Scotland has a long and proud history of harvesting seaweed and creating jobs and economic growth from this renewable resource,” said President and CEO of Acadian Seaplants Limited, Jean-Paul Deveau. “Uist Asco is a superb example of the strong and deep Scottish tradition of seaweed harvesting on the Island. We are very much looking forward to continuing this time honoured tradition by sharing our technologies, expertise and making the investments necessary to address any challenges to ensure the local seaweed industry prospers.” This acquisition gives Acadian Seaplants a greater presence in Europe, which will further complement its Arramara Teoranta operation in Kilkieran, Ireland. “I expect tremendous synergies and sharing of personnel and expertise between the two European and Canadian operations for the benefit of all involved,” he added. Raghnall MacIain of Uist Asco Ltd. said, “We are very pleased with the level of investment that Acadian Seaplants brings to Uist Asco and their support for the harvesting industry in North Uist. We look forward to growth of both the company operations and the local seaweed industry.” Acadian Seaplants Limited, based in Nova Scotia, Canada, is a global, bio-tech company and the largest independent manufacturer of marine plant products of its type in the world. It is engaged primarily in the sustainable harvesting of wild seaweeds, in the development of technologies to process these renewable resources into value-added finished products and in the cultivation and processing of unique seaweeds, from the world’s largest landbased, commercial seaweed cultivation system. The company produces products for global food and agricultural industries. Its valueadded products are sold into health, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, food, brewery and cosmetic markets; its agricultural business includes specialized animal feeds and crop biostimulants and nutritional products. Ninety-five percent of its products are exported to over 80 countries. For further information, contact: Linda Theriault Director, Corporate and Government Relations Acadian Seaplants Limited [email protected] T: +1 902 468 2840, F: +1 902 468 3474 www.acadianseaplants.com]]>

Funding announced for internship program that partners research with industry

See full story by Sara Ericsson in Queens County Advance

CORNWALLIS, N.S. – Nova Scotia’s provincial government has announced funding for internships in research and innovation aimed at creating work opportunities for Nova Scotia students and companies.

It was announced Feb. 6 at Acadian Seaplants in Cornwallis that $705,000 in funding will create 170 internships over the next three years. Sixty of these internships will take place at Acadian Seaplants, in partnership with Dalhousie University and the Mitacs Accelerate Program. The company, which processes seaweed to create products for numerous agricultural and chemical uses, has a long history of partnering with researchers to deliver cutting-edge products. President and CEO JP Deveau said his company “sees research as a way of life,” and that partnerships between industry, government and research institutions are key to “working together to create technologies we can export around the world.” Kelly Regan, Minister of Labour and Advanced Education, also attended Monday’s event, speaking about creating opportunities for recent university graduates. “Hiring people that we invest in early… will help create a better Nova Scotia,” she said.]]>

FMI: Biostimulants Market Poised to Account for US$ 4,109.5 Mn By 2025

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Demand for biostimulants is expected to surpass US$ 4 billion in revenues, according to a new research report by Future Market Insights (FMI). The report titled, “Biostimulants Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2015-2025” forecasts the demand for biostimulants to expand at a CAGR of nearly 11% through 2025.
Biostimulants are finding increasing application in the agriculture sector owing to their environmentally-friendly and organic nature. Rising food demand is putting pressure on land and focus has shifted to enhancing the yield per hectare.
“Governments around the world are speeding up efforts to boost agricultural production. Use of biostimulants is being encouraged to improve the overall output, and this is expected to fuel demand in the near future”, said the FMI analyst who compiled the report.
Although FMI expects the demand for biostimulants to expand at a robust pace during the forecast period 2015-2025, certain factors can impede growth. “Lack of standardisation and slow pace of innovation are the key restraining factors for the global biostimulants market.”
Foliar Dominant Application Segment for Biostimulants
Biostimulants are used in foliar, seed, and soil; among these, use of biostimulants is highest in the foliar segment, accounting for nearly one-third market share in 2014. On the basis of crop type, use of biostimulants is predominant in row crops, and fruits and vegetables. Application of biostimulants in turf and ornamental is at a nascent stage currently. FMI forecasts the turf and ornamental segment to expand at a CAGR of over 6% during 2015-2025.
Request Free Report Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-354
Strong Demand for Acid-Based Biostimulants
Demand for acid-based biostimulants is higher than acid-based- and extract-based biostimulants, owing to easy availability of raw materials and higher efficiency. Biostimulants containing Vitamin B, chitin and chitosan are expected to gain traction during the forecast period.
Western Europe Most Lucrative Market
Western Europe is the largest market for biostimulants, accounting for over 30% market value share in 2014. Focus on enhancing yield per hectare coupled with government support are the key factors propelling the growth of the market in the region.
Asia Pacific Excluding Japan is emerging as a lucrative market for biostimulants. The agriculture sector in the region is witnessing a shift from traditional farming practices to use of technology and additives, owing to which biostimulants are expected to gain traction in the next decade.
Acadian Seaplants Limited, Biostadt India Limited, Omex Agrifluids Ltd., Italpollina Spa, Koppert B.V., BioAtlantis Ltd., Micromix Plant Health Limited, Trade Corporation International, Valagro S.p.A, Isagro S.p.A, Platform Specialty Products Corporation,  BASF SE, Novozymes A/S, Agrinos A/S and The Dow Chemical Company.
Request For TOC@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-354
Segmentation of the global biostimulants market:
By Application

  • Foliar
  • Soil
  • Seed

By Crop Type

  • Row
  • Fruits & vegetables
  • Turf & ornamental
  • Other crops

By Active Ingredient Type

  • Acid-based
  • Extract-based
  • Others

By Geography
Western Europe

  • EU-5 Countries
  • Nordic
  • BENELUX
  • Rest of Western Europe

North America

  • U.S.
  • Canada

Asia Pacific Excluding Japan (APEJ)

  • China
  • India
  • ASEAN
  • Oceania
  • Rest of APEJ

Latin America

  • Argentina
  • Brazil
  • Mexico
  • Rest of Latin America

Eastern Europe

  • Poland
  • Russia
  • Rest of Eastern Europe

Middle East and Africa

  • GCC
  • South Africa
  • Turkey
  • Rest of Middle East and Africa

Japan