Seed Today

(February 22, 2010) -- Eurofins STA Laboratories, Inc. (ESTA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Eurofins Scientific, announces that John Mizicko will assume the position of President of Eurofins STA Laboratories, Inc. effective March 1, 2010.

John replaces Darrell Maddox, who resigned from ESTA in order to pursue new commercial and additional personal interests. Michael Russell, CEO of Eurofins Scientific says, “Darrell’s expertise, experience and professional ability will be missed by the ESTA team. In order to provide as much continuity as possible to our clients and to utilize Darrell’s expertise in an ongoing relationship, I am very happy that Darrell has agreed to remain with ESTA during this transition phase and will continue to work on strategic and business development projects for ESTA and Eurofins in the future.”

Darrell has served as President of ESTA Laboratories since 1995 and has been instrumental in the development of the company’s seed health services. In 2004, he expanded the company’s services to include DNA technologies such as molecular markers as well as plant health services including its world-renown Grapevine HealthCheckTM program. Under his direction, ESTA has become a globally recognized leader in independent diagnostic services for genetics, seeds and plant health.

During his tenure, Darrell believed that ESTA should provide services that helped its clients succeed, and this often meant visible involvement in the industries served by ESTA. To this end, Darrell was instrumental in chartering the National Seed Health System and developing the International Seed Health Initiative. In collaboration with Eurofins, he will continue his involvement with the American Seed Trade Association’s (ASTA) Phytosanitary Committee.

During his time as Division Manager of Seed Quality Services, John Mizicko oversaw and directed a committed and energetic staff that handles the Seed Health and Seed Analysis testing services. He has worked to successfully propel ESTA Laboratories forward as the industry leader in vegetable seed quality services.

Prior to joining ESTA, John was Vice-President of Worldwide Production at Harris Moran Seed Company. In that role, John was responsible for worldwide commercial vegetable seed production and purchasing. John has traveled extensively throughout the world evaluating production fields and field trials and has worked closely with domestic and international growers to develop high-quality seed products through appropriate seed production techniques, seed health and genetic quality testing. During John’s 16-year tenure at Harris Moran Seed Company, he also held the positions of Vice President of Production and Operations, Quality Control Manager, Offshore Production Manager, and Stock Seed and New Products Manager. These positions allowed him to oversee the company’s seed product testing labs, as well as the plant pathology programs and operations at three research facilities located in Davis, CA, San Juan Bautista, CA, and Sun City, FL.

John previously worked as a Research Plant Pathologist for SunSeeds in Hollister, CA and Niagara Seed Company in Davis, CA, developing disease resistant varieties, conducting seed health testing for stock seed and commercial lots, and testing commercial brassica and tomato lots for hybrid purity by starch gel electrophoresis. Previous to his seed industry experience, he was a non-tenured faculty member at the University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN in the Plant Pathology department and Federal Extension Service. He received a Master’s degree in Plant Pathology and Bachelor’s degree in Botany from Colorado State University.

As an active member, John serves on various committees of the California Seed Association (CSA), American Seed Trade Association and the Asian Pacific Seed Association (APSA). He currently is serving as Chairman of the Associate Members Division of ASTA and is a member of the Board of Directors of ASTA. He was a past Chair of the Vegetable and Flower Division Permanent Research Fund for ASTA, as well as a past member of the Board of Directors of the Pacific Seed Association.

John’s proven industry leadership and extensive experience positions the company for continued company growth and innovation while following in the same ESTA tradition of customer-centered service and laboratory excellence created by Darrell. On behalf of Eurofins, and especially on behalf of ESTA, we would like to express our deepest gratitude and appreciation to Darrell for his many contributions and dynamic leadership over the last 15 years and look forward to continued collaborations with him.

Eurofins – a global leader in bio-analysis Eurofins Scientific is a life sciences company operating internationally to provide a comprehensive range of analytical testing services to clients from a wide range of industries including the pharmaceutical, food and environmental sectors.

With 8,000 staff in more than 150 laboratories across 30 countries, Eurofins offers a portfolio of over 25,000 reliable analytical methods for evaluating the authenticity, origin, safety, identity, composition and purity of biological substances and products. The Group is committed to providing its customers with high quality services, accurate results in time and, if requested, expert advice by its highly qualified staff.

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