Imperial College Alumni Association of Northern California - Visit to Genencor

The Northern California Alumni Association were priviledged to have the chance to visit Genencor on July 27, 2005. Genencor is one of the world’s foremost suppliers of industrial enzymes.

On July 27, 2005, members of the Imperial College Alumni Association of Northern California were given a splendid tour of Genencor's facilities in Palo Alto, California.

The Genencor facility in Palo Alto is not only the worldwide headquarters of the company (it has plants all over the world), but is also its main Research and Development Centre. As one of the world's foremost suppliers of industrial enzymes, Genencor provides a formidable demonstration of cutting edge biotechnology applied to produce significant commercial success. They learnt for example, that leading jeans manufacturers use Genencor enzymes to economically give jeans a stonewashed look. Previously, manufacturers had to rely on repeatedly washing jeans with pumice stones, with all the attendant damage to machine and nature that this entails.

After a corporate overview in the company's Executive Briefing Center, they had the rare privilege of actually visiting the lab floors, safety goggles securely in place. They visited the areas of Enzyme Identification and Expression, X-Ray Crystallography, Application Testing and Pilot Facilities for Fermentation and Product Recovery. Some of them regretted not having some of the fermentation expertise they saw during their Imperial days; it would have saved a lot on beer bills.

As well as being an excellent example of a 21st century industry, Genencor has also been named as the Fourth Best Place to Work in America. Given all the smiling faces they saw, the Imperial College alumni who visited thoroughly concur with that judgment.

After the visit, the group and Genencor staff enjoyed yet another beautiful California day in the patio area of the nearby Alpine Inn.

Contributors: David Goodman and Arjuna Jayasinha