KALAMAZOO, MICH. — Kalsec is expanding its innovation capacity with the opening of its newest facility, the Don Berdahl Center for New Technology.

Named in honor of Don Berdahl, PhD, who retired as the company’s chief technical officer in 2019, the 6,500-square-foot facility is staffed with a variety of resident scientists and visiting product developers to explore opportunities in green technology, biotransformation and natural ingredient production. Kalsec invested more than $10 million in the project, which also will support new product discovery, advanced application testing and process engineering advancements.

Dr. Berdahl joined Kalsec in 1994. His most recent role was executive vice president of research strategy and chief technical officer, where he focused on building the company’s research strategy through business acquisitions and new technology. An inventor of numerous patents, he led commercialization efforts for several technologies at Kalsec, including rosemary extract for extending the shelf life of ground meat, zeaxanthin for eye health from orange paprika and advanced hops products for the brewing industry, among others.

“This new technology center is instrumental to Kalsec’s long-term growth strategy,” said Scott Nykaza, PhD, chief executive officer at Kalsec. “We are honored to dedicate the space to Don’s legacy, which has made such a significant impact on our people, our purpose and our potential.”