The IBJ
Officials of Purdue University and
Dow AgroSciences unveiled a collaboration Wednesday in which the Indianapolis-based company will become one of the largest tenants at the
Purdue Research Park in West Lafayette.
Dow Agro will occupy 15,000 square feet of research and office space in the newly built Herman and Heddy Kurz Purdue Technology Center.
The company, a division of Michigan-based
Dow Chemical Co., also will be the exclusive tenant of a 6,000-square-foot greenhouse complex to be constructed on the south side of Ross Enterprise Center.
The
Indiana Economic Development Corp. will provide a $2.2 million grant to the
Purdue Research Foundation to cover construction of the greenhouse research center.
Dow Agro expects to hire up to 30 scientists and 18 contract researchers, who will have the opportunity to collaborate with Purdue faculty and will have access to some campus research facilities.
"The power of collaboration with Purdue is immense, and the many elements of this project will bring great advancement to our biotechnology efforts," Antonio Galindez, president and CEO of Dow AgroSciences, said in a prepared statement. "Purdue Research Park is the perfect setting to unleash the creativity of our scientists and advance science and technology."
Dow Agro will join more than 160 companies already at the research park.
The company has ramped up its research efforts in recent months. In July, Dow Agro signed a 15-year lease for an 80,000-square-foot research-and-development building, to be erected adjacent to its headquarters on the northwest side of Indianapolis.
Dow Agro plans to hire dozens of additional researchers there as well. The company currently employs 1,200 in Indianapolis.