About Us
History
Founded in 1974, Fort Richard Laboratories began life as McGaw Ethicals, a small media making division purchased from pharmaceutical company BioMed. Potential was seen for laboratories to buy in ready-made media – saving technicians valuable time from making it themselves. The concept was well accepted in the market, and the company secured the exclusive licence for Difco and then Becton Dickinson (BD) after a buy-out of the former.
The company has since moved from strength to strength, its success being determined in part, by its commitment to quality, service and innovation. For nearly forty years, Fort Richard has traded on its core values – integrity, honesty and trust, and this has seen it successfully grow from a small local company into an exporter of industry-recognised proprietary and licensed brands.
Fort Richard today
With dedicated manufacturing facilities in both New Zealand and Australia, Fort Richard is among Australasia’s largest manufacturers of prepared culture media and offer the widest range of specialist microbiology consumables and equipment in the region. Backed by the expertise of in-house microbiologists, the company is also able to provide customised media solutions to meet specific laboratory needs.
The breadth and integrity of the business has seen companies such as Copan, Neogen®, Lab M, Mast, BioBall, World BioProducts and Spectrum Chemicals choose Fort Richard as trusted distribution partners, helping the company further expand its range and reach to international markets. The company currently exports to over 16 countries across Australasia, Asia-Pacific, Central and South East Asia.
A promising future
The past success of Fort Richard Laboratories is due to insight, innovation and agility – driven by a deep understanding of the industry and its customers. A willingness to collaborate has seen the company build partnerships with the worlds leading brands and forge strong relationships with laboratories around the globe.
The next generation of management is equally committed to innovation and growth and will continue to lead the market with specialised microbiology products and services that improve processes and procurement – transforming the world within the laboratory.