UPL opens research and development center

UPL announced the opening of a new Research and Development center in North Carolina, in the United States. The "OpenAg Center" is located in the Alexandria Center for AgTech - Research Triangle.

The new unit will allow UPL to leverage its research and development capacity in partnership with other innovation companies, with the aim of creating, developing and commercializing new solutions, contributing to the development of sustainable agriculture. The OpenAg Center is an important step that demonstrates the company's commitment to the OpenAg purpose, which is to be an agricultural network that fuels sustainable growth for all. No limits, no borders.

"Food production systems need to intensify their actions", says UPL's technology director, Adrian Percy. "Agriculture is transforming and we simply cannot continue with the current slow rate of technological innovation and deployment in the field. Our purpose OpenAg is breaking boundaries and boundaries to create partnerships that will transform agriculture, delivering more value in the food production chain ."

The OpenAg Center has high-tech laboratories and a team of experienced and renowned scientists, capable of quickly validating a wide range of technologies – from the newest varieties of biological approaches to the latest innovations in chemistry.

"Combining the agility and innovation of startups with UPL's flexible model of partnership, scientific, R&D, intellectual property, field development and regulatory expertise, the OpenAg Center will fuel a faster and more efficient process for obtaining tested, approved and proven technologies in the field", states UPL's head of new technologies, Mark Singleton.

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UPL's new OpenAg Center is located in one of the most diverse and fastest-growing technology hubs in the US with a strong educational ecosystem. The unit has air-conditioned research greenhouses, as well as dedicated space for formulation, chemical and biochemical analysis laboratories to support application, delivery, characterization, mode of action and resistance analysis. Furthermore, innovation work covers all product classes, including fungicides, insecticides, herbicides and crop establishment.

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The new OpenAg Center is operating during the Covid-19 pandemic, as are other UPL units around the world. UPL's main priority is to protect its employees, ensuring business continuity. Therefore, the company follows the strict protocols recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, as the situation evolves, without interrupting the production or delivery of its products and services.