Three directors have been appointed to the advisory board of New Zealand’s newest plant technology company, Grasslanz. They are Dr Stewart Washer, Dr John Caradus, and Bob Mather.

Grasslanz Technology Limited is a plant technology company serving agriculture through development of proprietary forage cultivars, grass endophytes and applied biotechnology. It is the world’s premier source of grass endophytes and white clover and a world leader in the development of temperate forage cultivars.  

Stewart Washer

Celentis CEO Dr Washer is a biotechnologist who has worked in the commercial biotech sector for the past decade. He has first hand understanding of the issues facing start-up biotech companies and the requirements for sustained growth, having founded a number of biotechnology companies in Australia, including Grain Biotechnology Australia Pty Ltd in

1999. In 2000, he was appointed a Member of the Advisory Council on Intellectual Property (ACIP) that advises the Australian Federal Government on patent and trademark issues. Dr Washer has strengths in identifying commercial biotechnology opportunities and assessing the technical merit and intellectual property depth underpinning these opportunities.

Bob Mather

Mr Mather, as General Manager of Zuelzer (Australasia) Ltd, brings a high level of business acumen to the Grasslanz Board. Zuelzer is a US-based broker of pasture and turf seeds.  Prior to Zuelzer, Bob was General Manager of the Wrightson’s Seed Group. He has an international network of contacts in the seed industry. His seed business experience and well developed networks will be valuable in determining the company’s strategic direction. 

John Caradus

John is CEO of Dexcel Ltd, and brings scientific insight to the mix. He has an up to date understanding of the technology Grasslanz is commercialising. Dr Caradus, who has a background in plant breeding, was Science General Manager for AgResearch, and a Science Leader for AgResearch’s Plant Breeding and Genomics group. He has been a strong advocate of Grasslanz Technology having championed the spin-off, and has earned the respect of Grasslanz customers and staff.

Grasslanz, based in Palmerston North, is a wholly ownded subsiary of Celentis, AgResearch’s science commercialisation company.  Its success is underpinned by AgResearch’s capability in conventional plant breeding, plant genomics, microbial genomics and a strong base of fundamental and applied plant and animal sciences.

Grasslanz Technology Limited is the primary vehicle for commercialising AgResearch plant technologies.   Grasslands™ branded forage plants have been bred for the New Zealand pastoral industry for over 65 years and there are currently more than 80 proprietary cultivars on the market here for use in forage, turf and soil conservation.  Grasslands™ white clover cultivars hold No.1 market position in the world.  As well as Grasslands™ branded products, Grasslanz also licenses AgResearch grass endophytes AR1, MaxQ™ and MaxP™.

Grasslanz also conducts collaborative R & D projects with other parties, managing each project from inception to client delivery, including production of high quality nucleus seed, inoculation of endophytes, agronomic and animal testing and Intellectual Property protection of proprietary products.

Celentis is owned by AgResearch.  In addition to working with other technology providers, Celentis also markets and manages AgResearch technologies, drawing on decades of experience and the expertise of over 600 scientists through its parent company.