Karel Bolckmans appointed Chief Operating Officer of Biobest Group

Effective October 1st 2016, Karel Bolckmans will take up a new position as Biobest’s Chief Operating Officer (COO). Returning to the company where he started his career in biocontrol in the early nineties, Karel brings a unique track-record and a proven capability to transform the biocontrol industry. At Biobest, he will provide invaluable input to set out the company’s future growth strategy. He will maximize the market impact of the company’s rich innovation pipeline. And he will spend significant effort on keeping the company’s global production infrastructure robust and ready to deal with continuous double digit growth.

Jean-Marc Vandoorne, Biobest CEO: ”I’m pleased to welcome Karel in our executive team. Karel is widely recognized and respected as a pioneer in the biocontrol business through his experiences at Biobest and Koppert. With his most recent experience at Special Fruit, he has acquired an even deeper understanding of the needs of the horticultural supply chain in terms of sustainable production. Our mission is to provide growers with fully integrated biological crop care solutions and to help them successfully implement these solutions. While we focus on selected core crops, our ambition is to be at the service of growers worldwide. I am very confident that Karel will make a significant contribution to Biobest’s growth.”

Karel Bolckmans comments: ”I am passionate about biological control and sustainability. It has been a great experience to work for a couple of years in the supply chain of high quality horticultural products, but I’m excited to return to the biocontrol and pollination business. Biobest has nearly thirty years of experience in this business and has grown into an important global player. The company has a strong team, a broad product offering, is dedicated to provide high quality advice to growers and has stable ownership with the right vision. Significant investments in innovation have resulted in a strong pipeline of new products and technologies. I’m excited about Biobest’s growth potential in the years to come and eager to help fully realize this potential.”

Biobest, headquartered in Belgium, is a leading player in pollination and biological control. The company reaches out to growers in over 60 countries. Through its subsidiaries, the company has production sites, sales and technical support staff strategically located across the globe for effective worldwide service. Biobest distributors in many countries are key partners with whom the company works very closely to help customers achieve their economic and ecological goals.

For more information, please contact lise.verachtert@biobest.be.