Today, we’re announcing Enko Chem’s move to a new headquarters and research facility in Mystic, Connecticut.

We’re thrilled for our team to start a new chapter of crop health in this facility, which will build on a long and storied past of pioneering agricultural research. If you work in the ag industry, you might already know the building well. Built in 1992 for Dekalb Genetics, it has served as an outpost for major agriculture companies including Monsanto, and later Bayer, to do research and development over the last three decades.

Many of our own team members have contributed to that innovative work. In fact, nearly a third of Enko employees have worked in previous roles at the facility—myself included. My first day back in Mystic was filled with nostalgia and the excitement for the new possibilities. Enko’s culture is strengthened with a group of employees that are passionate about doing good work for agriculture and society.

As it passes between inhabitants, groundbreaking agricultural research defines this facility. We’re honored to carry that torch into the next era.The chapter we write and the work we do here will focus on the future of sustainable agriculture worldwide through crop health.

To make that a reality, we’re fueled by our $45 million Series B funding round and a new $2.2 million investment from Connecticut Innovations, the state’s leading financier of innovative, growing companies. This brings total investment in Enko to date to $68.2 million. Connecticut has a rich research and innovation community that we’ll contribute to through our work and as a member of BioCT, which seeks to grow a vibrant bioscience ecosystem in the state.

What’s next for Enko

The greenhouses feature two ranges with 19 individually-controlled areas and room for about 10,000 3-gallon pots. This means our team can work on several different projects at once, testing weed, fungal, insect and nematode inhibitors in parallel–and much faster than they could before.

In addition to spacious greenhouses, we have ample office and R&D space that we’ll grow into for many years. Mystic’s centrality in New England makes it an ideal hub for us to attract new talent. We have an ambitious goal to grow our team by more than 30% in 2021, welcoming new team members from the local Mystic and Connecticut communities as well as neighboring Boston, Rhode Island and New York City. If you’d like to join us in this exciting new era, you can find all of our open positions here.

Embracing life in Mystic

Life in Mystic for our team won’t be all work and no play! Previous owners of this facility have maintained strong relationships with the town and the leadership of the surrounding Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center, which we’re eager to cultivate.

The Enko team has already started forming their own relationships with Mystic. Neville, fondly known as our in-house “pastry guy,” wasted no time tracking down his new favorite local pastry place, Sift Bake Shop. I have no doubt we’ll have many more favorites to share as we get to know the town.

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