Bimeda –Excellence in Animal Health For Over 60 Years
For over 60 years, Bimeda colleagues have been driven by a passion for providing science-driven solutions to optimize the health and wellbeing of animals. Their unwavering commitment has seen Bimeda grow from a small Irish enterprise to a leading player in the global animal health industry. Today a network of over 1,000 Bimeda employees across five continents collaborate each day to find ever-better ways to exceed the expectations of our customers, as we develop new ways to enhance animal health, wellbeing and productivity.
But how did we get here? Read on to learn more about the Bimeda story.
What started out in 1960 as a truly Irish enterprise, has grown over the course of six decades to become a leading global innovator, manufacturer and marketer of veterinary pharmaceuticals and animal health products.
In The Beginning…..
Bimeda Chemicals Limited was founded on 22nd April 1960, when a group of Irish veterinary surgeons set up a company to supply Irish veterinarians with quality veterinary products. The original company motto was ‘For And By The Profession’. As the company founders were themselves veterinarians, they had unrivalled knowledge of the needs and wants of their customer base and were able to develop a highly sought product portfolio.
From the original premises in Phibsboro, Dublin, Bimeda Chemicals Ltd manufactured a range of veterinary remedies and also distributed a variety of third party products. As the 1963 advertisement from the Journal of The Veterinary Medical Association of Ireland shows, within just a few years Bimeda had a broad and exciting portfolio of products.
Bimeda quickly gained a reputation for both quality and reliability, and successfully drove awareness of the company’s product range through regular, innovative advertising campaigns. Bimeda’s passion for marketing continues to this day and is supported by our global network of marketing colleagues.
1973 - The Bimeda Acquisition and Expansion into the UK
In 1973 Bimeda Chemicals Limited was acquired by the current Irish owners. The family already owned Osmond & Sons (Dublin) Limited and went on to acquire Constant Chemicals Ltd in 1975. These three companies were subsequently brought together in a new location in Tallaght, Dublin. The new Tallaght facility served for many years as a multi-purpose production and warehousing unit; producing injectables, intramammaries, oral solutions, topicals and hygiene products. By this time, Bimeda had also established itself in the UK market, with a distribution base in Liverpool and a reputation for high quality products.
Expansion into Africa
With Bimeda now firmly established in both Ireland and the UK, ambitions moved towards expansion. The export business became a key strategic focus, with the East African market becoming particularly important.
Despite the challenges of both travel and communication at the time, Bimeda thrived; achieving rapid success in East Africa which has been sustained over many decades. Today Bimeda’s AMEA (Africa, Middle East and Asia) business has a physical presence in Kenya, Zambia, Uganda, Tanzania and China, with an export division which serves the entire AMEA region.
The 1990s - Coming To North America
Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s Bimeda continued to grow, with a strong network of distributor and contract manufacture partners helping Bimeda products to reach veterinarians and farmers all over Europe and Africa.
However, the company had ambitions beyond the European and AMEA regions and in 1991, Bimeda commenced distributing products in the USA. In 1997, an acquisition followed, giving Bimeda its first permanent base in North America. A period of rapid expansion followed, and between 1997 and 2008, Bimeda undertook 5 key acquisitions in the USA, Canada and Mexico, creating a strong R&D, manufacturing and commercial presence throughout the North American continent.
A Decade of Global Acquisitions
2010 marked the start of a new decade and a period of rapid expansion driven by both organic growth and an ambitious acquisition strategy.
Between 2010 and 2019 Bimeda acquired medicinal, nutritional, diagnostics and vaccine businesses in Kenya, Brazil, the UK, US and France, as well as acquiring the veterinary medicine portfolio of Grupo Unipharm in Central America.
During this period, Bimeda also joined Rainbow Laboratories Ltd, in establishing a raw material testing and innovation centre in Shijiazhuang, China.
2019 also saw the opening of Bimeda’s Global Innovation Centre in Dublin, Ireland, which leads our global innovation programme, in collaboration with five additional R&D laboratories in Minnesota (USA), Texas (USA), Monte Mor (Brazil), Shiazhuang (China) and Cambridge (Canada).
2020 and Beyond
In 2020, our state-of-the art sterile injectable manufacturing facility located in Shijiazhuang, China proudly commenced manufacturing operations. The facility is approved to supply quality veterinary pharmaceutical products to China, Australia, New Zealand, Kenya and Uganda.
In 2021, Bimeda was pleased to enter the aquaculture sector, with the acquisition of AquaTactics Fish Health, in the USA. The same year, Bimeda established a new greenfield organisation in Denmark, Bimeda Nordic Aps. From early 2022 Bimeda Nordic commenced supply of our broad range of veterinary pharmaceuticals and animal health products to the Nordic region.
In 2022 Bimeda acquired Afrivet Limited in South Africa, resulting in Bimeda having the largest footprint of any animal health company in Africa.
In 2023 Bimeda made a substantial philanthropic donation to the UCD Foundation in Ireland. This donation was used to help fund the UCD Bimeda Herd Health Hub and AgTechUD Innovation Centre at UCD Lyons Farm in county Kildare, Ireland.
Today Bimeda employs over 1000 people worldwide and has a presence in over 80 countries. Our 11 manufacturing and 8 R&D facilities all operate to the highest regulatory standards, and our global supply chain and distribution network sees our products used to enhance animal health in all major food-producing regions.
Bimeda is an organisation which will continue to grow, continue to invest in innovation and continue to be committed to finding ever-better ways to serve our customer, as we continue strive for global excellence in animal health.
Above, Bimeda manufacturing facility in China
2011
Aquired
Assia (Kenya)
Mogivet (Brazil)
2011
2012
Acquired
Vetpharm Limited
(UK-based exports company)
2013
Acquired
Telsol Limited
(UK bolus technology)
2013
2014
Acquired
Zootech (France)
2016
Acquired
ArthroDynamic Technology Inc.
(Equine product specialist, USA)
NBVC (Nutrition, France)
Iodolab (Diagnostics, France)
2016
2019
Acquired
Veterinary Medicine Portfolio of Grupo Unipharm (Central America)
Texas Vet Lab, Inc (USA)
(Vaccine manufacture and diagnostics)
2021
Acquired
2022
Acquired
Afrivet (South Africa)
2022
2023
Philanthropy
UCD Bimeda Herd Health Hub & AgTechUCD Innovation Centre
Bimeda philanthropic donation
