Sixth-generation family business which began trading in Northern Ireland in 1825 relocates its head office back to Belfast after 50 years

Openfolde, formerly Germinal Holdings, has recently restructured its operations relocating its head office back to Belfast after 50 years.

Formerly based in Banbridge from its foundation in 1825, the seed and grain processors and seller uprooted most of its business in 2020 and relocated to Thurles. However the firm has now transferred its head office to Clarence Street in Belfast boosting a portfolio of locally managed businesses that share a vision for innovation, collaboration and a sustainable future.

The sixth-generation family business has been trading since 1825, when Samuel McCausland Ltd (Openfolde’s founding company) was formed as a general merchant business importing and exporting goods through Belfast Port. McCausland’s grew to be at the forefront of NI’s seed production industry, exporting across the world as well as being a local seed merchant.

Fast forward 200 years, the newly renamed parent company, Openfolde is now a global SME supplying customers in the agricultural, professional amenity and domestic bird seed and lawn care markets.

Its subsidiaries are Germinal GB, Germinal Ireland, Germinal New Zealand, Germinal Horizon and three ecommerce brands (The Grass People, iCANLAWN.com and Birdkind). It also owns a 50% stake in New Zealand based Cates, a key player in the domestic and international grain and seed market.

Led by William Gilbert, a direct descendant of Samuel McCausland, the Openfolde group is strategically looking to explore new opportunities. William explained: "While the company has continuously evolved over the years, this has increased recently through vertical integration within the seed industry, acquiring a shareholding in a seed production business in New Zealand (Cates) and further investment in our own Germinal Horizon research division. We now have three R&D sites in the UK and New Zealand involved in plant breeding and trials.

"We rationalised our number of production sites in the UK and Ireland, and invested heavily in warehousing and machinery to benefit from economies of scale. We also launched three ecommerce brands and moved our head office back to Belfast, setting up marcomms, digital and ecommerce teams to drive our vision in this area.”

The company is confident of further growth as focus remains on the importance of sustainability.

Germinal’s climate smart solutions already help farmers produce more sustainably and profitably for the global food chain. Its climate smart products include Germinal's Aber High Sugar Grasses which increase the amount of forage protein captured by animals grazing grassland, therefore reducing ammonia emissions, protecting water and air quality, and improving animal performance.

Looking to pursue local opportunity and innovation, William concluded: “This is an exciting time for our company. As we approach our 200-year anniversary in 2025, we are embracing new possibilities through our portfolio of businesses and delivering on Openfolde’s promise of growth.”