‘Doubling our cleaning capacity’: £5m boost to expand processing at 200-year-old Northern Ireland seed specialist
Germinal, part of the Openfolde Group, will more than double capacity at its Lincoln site, supporting customers across the UK and Ireland
Belfast-headquartered seed specialist Germinal, part of the Openfolde Group, has announced an investment of £5 million in expanded grass seed processing capacity at its Lincoln site in England.
The investment will fund purpose-built facilities housing new seed intake infrastructure, more than doubling seed cleaning and processing capacity. This will improve quality assurance, reduce bottlenecks during peak harvest periods, and speed up turnaround times for customers across the UK and Ireland, ensuring reliable supply of Germinal’s market-leading grass and clover varieties.
The upgrade will also improve dust control and enable indoor seed handling, creating a safer working environment and removing weather related disruption.
Germinal is also installing a 200 kw solar PV micro-generation system on its new seed intake facility. Its additional seed processing capacity will support more seed cleaning activity during daylight hours thereby enabling greater use of renewable power generated on-site, helping to reduce the overall carbon footprint of operations at Lincoln.
Construction is expected to be completed by March 2027, with new cleaning and processing plant installed ahead of the 2027 harvest.
Matt Stevens, operations manager at Germinal GB in England said: “This investment is about strengthening every stage of our intake, cleaning and production operations. In doubling our cleaning capacity, we are not only increasing efficiency but also improving the consistency and quality of what we can deliver to our customers.
“It allows us to reduce production pressures during periods of peak demand and helps us respond more quickly to customers and create a more flexible system overall. Ultimately, this means a better service for our customers and a stronger, more resilient seed processing operation at Lincoln serving our entire business across the UK and Ireland.”
The announcement comes as Germinal and its parent company, Openfolde, continue a period of growth and investment following their 200th anniversary in 2025.
Founded in Belfast in 1825, this sixth-generation business has evolved into an international science-driven group supplying the leading grass and clover varieties that support farmers and amenity applications across the UK, Ireland and beyond.
Germinal produces 50% of the grass seed grown in the UK, with approximately one-third of the UK’s total production processed at its Lincoln base. Openfolde’s R&D division, Germinal Horizon, develops science-led grass and clover seed innovations to improve farm productivity and support sustainable food production.