AGROLAB News

40 years of AGROLAB – we celebrated this special milestone together with colleagues from across the entire AGROLAB GROUP in Bruckberg near Landshut. The anniversary celebration was dedicated to our shared development, our international diversity and, above all, the people who have shaped AGROLAB for four decades

On the festival ground in Bruckberg, employees from different countries and sites of the AGROLAB GROUP came together to look back on 40 years of company history. The venue deliberately reflected AGROLAB’s roots in Lower Bavaria and linked them with a view of the company as it is today: international, closely connected and driven by many different teams.

Getting active and connecting

The afternoon was all about togetherness. A variety of team activities and hands-on events gave colleagues the chance to chat, get active together and experience the anniversary away from their everyday working routine. A highlight of the programme was the Bavarian Olympics, featuring various stations and challenges that called above all for cooperation, skill and team spirit.

Sustainability and creativity also played a part. Various activities invited participants to create something together and to engage with environmental and sustainability topics. The afternoon thus deliberately made room for encounters between colleagues who work together across national and site boundaries every day, but do not always get the chance to meet in person.

Many pieces – one AGROLAB GROUP

A special symbol of the unity within the AGROLAB GROUP was the anniversary puzzle. Employees from various departments and sites had each designed individual puzzle pieces. Put together, they formed one shared picture – a visible sign that it takes many different people and teams to make AGROLAB what it is. The puzzle consists of 234 individual pieces in total and now adorns a wall in the AGROLAB GmbH office building.

The idea behind the puzzle also reflected a central theme of the anniversary: over the past four decades, AGROLAB has grown considerably and become more international, yet the individual pieces still belong together. What works together today as the AGROLAB GROUP has grown together over many years from different sites, specialist areas and teams.

Looking back on 40 years of AGROLAB

During the official part of the evening, Managing Director and company founder Paul Wimmer looked back on 40 years of AGROLAB. He traced the journey from the early days in Oberhummel to today’s international AGROLAB GROUP. The focus was not only on growth, new sites and internationalisation, but above all on the people behind this development. ‘When I look back on 40 years of AGROLAB, I don’t see figures first. I see people,’ said Wimmer, summing up the essence of his speech. His pride lay not only in what has been achieved, but especially in the many employees who have contributed to AGROLAB’s success for decades.

The speech also made clear what collaboration within the AGROLAB GROUP stands for today: shared quality standards, a shared philosophy and mutual support across national and site boundaries. Particularly when sample volumes are high, it becomes evident how important the interplay between the individual laboratories and teams is in day-to-day work.

How naturally this cross-border collaboration works could also be felt later in the evening: the members of the AGROLAB Band came together from different parts of Europe and, despite having barely rehearsed together, delivered a phenomenal performance. The marquee was buzzing from the very first song. People sang along, danced and celebrated – in short, an energetic start to the rest of the anniversary evening.

A Festival of Cultures within the AGROLAB GROUP

Another highlight of the anniversary evening was the ‘Festival of Cultures’. Under the motto ‘Bring your culture to us’, employees from various countries and sites put together the stage programme themselves, combining a wide range of cultural influences, talents and ideas. The performances ranged from music, dance and comedy to traditional and creative acts.

Earlier in the afternoon, employees from Spain had already created a special moment with a traditional ‘castell’ – a Catalan human tower. In the evening, Polish colleagues opened the ‘Festival of Cultures’ with ‘Polish Folk & Fun’, getting the marquee in the mood with a mix of Polish tradition, dance and modern influences. This was followed by a varied programme that brought the diversity of the AGROLAB GROUP to the stage in many different ways: ‘AGROLAB Soul’ combined singing and dance, the team from Potsdam provided humorous moments with a series of sketches, and the sign-language choir impressively demonstrated how communication works even without spoken words.

The musical journey then continued to Italy: the band ‘I Falsi Positivi’ brought a taste of Italian dolce vita to the marquee. Francesco De Santi’s comedy monologue followed, taking a humorous look at the cultural differences between Italy and Germany. With the expressive show dance ‘The Enemy Within’, the programme then struck a more reflective note. The finale was the ‘Ibérica Mix España Edition’, featuring dances from different regions of Spain and plenty of audience participation.

The atmosphere in the marquee remained electric: the audience cheered the performances loudly, danced and at times stood on the benches as one. Precisely because the performances were created by the employees themselves, the international diversity of the AGROLAB GROUP could be experienced first-hand. Different cultural backgrounds and perspectives came together on one stage – united by a shared sense of togetherness. This is exactly what gave the ‘Festival of Cultures’ its special character and showed, in its own unique way, what collaboration within the AGROLAB GROUP is all about.

The exuberant mood continued seamlessly into the rest of the evening with the Oktoberfest band ‘Ois Easy’.

Rooted in Bavaria, grown across Europe

The anniversary was not only an occasion to celebrate, but also to reflect on the developments of the past four decades. From its roots in Lower Bavaria, an internationally positioned laboratory group has emerged. Structures, technologies and requirements have changed as the company has grown – but the commitment to reliability, efficient processes and high analytical quality has remained.

At the same time, the development of the AGROLAB GROUP shows that growth does not come solely from new sites and additional capacity. What matters is the collaboration between the individual divisions and countries. It was precisely this combination of local strength and a shared European focus that also defined the anniversary celebration in Bruckberg.

Looking ahead to the next 40 years

After four decades, AGROLAB continues to look ahead. The European development of the AGROLAB GROUP will be consistently pursued – based on the principles that have shaped the company since its foundation: reliability, efficient processes, closeness to customers and long-term, sound growth.

Yet this is not just about further growth. ‘We don’t simply want to keep getting bigger. We want to get better,’ emphasised Managing Director Paul Wimmer, looking ahead to the coming years. This means better laboratories, better processes, better working conditions and better services for customers.

At the same time, the 40th anniversary celebration made one thing particularly clear: behind AGROLAB’s development are not only laboratories, analyses and technologies, but above all the people who help shape the company every day. With this shared foundation, the AGROLAB GROUP is heading into the decades to come.