The R&D Department (chemical branch) is fundamental for Mérieux NutriSciences. Initially dedicated to the Food Business Unit, today it works with all divisions in the continuous search of innovation. The Head of the Department is the one who saw its setting up and development over the years; today, we are going to introduce him, Emiliano De Dominicis.
Read the interview #BehindTheScenes.
Besides being the Director of an important and strategic Division for Mérieux NutriSciences, you are also one of the pillars of Mérieux NutriSciences Italia.
I daily do my best! I have been working here for more than 22 years, after a Master in Food Science and Technology at the University of Milan. The previous scholarship -University/Business work alternation- in a small company in such city did not meet my expectations, so I came to Chelab (now Mérieux NutriSciences). Since 2000, I have contributed to the development of new test methods, particularly in the pesticide and contaminant laboratories for Food BU. In 2004, the Research and Development Laboratory was founded; today, 25 people are dedicated to supporting the development of the company’s different businesses.
The R&D Department is not exclusive to the Italian site, is it?
That is right; we have the opportunity to participate in international projects with our colleagues from all over the world! For the chemical branch, R&D Italy is the largest at corporate level (Analytical Hub) and I think this is a great honor for all of us. We work on shared projects with other subsidiaries; everyone has different expertise, we contaminate each other, we share, we learn, we improve. The passion and energy that unites the whole team has allowed and allows us to evolve every day.
R&D without limits! You work on what we call special projects; how was the journey to get here?
The journey was made in the past, I am doing it now and I will do it in the future although it is not always easy, but this is our routine because we work in a highly challenging environment. An important milestone in this journey in terms of business was when we made a creative plan to apply the evolution of mass spectrometry (which was in progress at the time) to our business at the test level (firstly, Italian and European markets). It was not easy and the spur helped to move in the right direction. Thanks to the path and the results we achieved, I can say that we have the confidence of the management in terms of investment in technology, projects and future-oriented activities.
As a Team leader, we know that a fundamental goal is to create a peaceful and balanced work environment.
In my opinion, it is crucial to establish and preserve the balance within the team as much as possible so that it can work well and express itself at its best. If I see that someone tends to undermine the balance, I immediately take action and provide precise feedback to improve. I ask for feedback to pursue the continuous improvement at both a professional and personal level.
Therefore, many years have gone by but you are still looking forward to new technical and business challenges.
I enjoy what I do, every single day. I feel I have given and am still giving my contribution to the realization of something real and useful at Mérieux NutriSciences. I think we are all always looking for new scientific and business challenges. Every day, we study new topics, look for solutions to problems that arise, grow and evolve. Enthusiasm is the basis. Almost everything is still to be explored and understood. Our work is one of the best because it leads us to insight and understanding tomorrow’s future already today, now!