24 Mar Meet Laurent Michel Bonanno, Analytical Expert in Research and Development
Laurent Michel Bonanno, more commonly called Michel, has worked with Biospringer for 30 years. When he arrived, he was Head of the Analytical Development in the Research & Development department. He is currently Analytical Expert. We asked him a few questions about his missions and experience at Biospringer.
Good morning Michel! Thank you for answering our questions. First, could you tell us about your background ?
« Thank you for inviting a veteran member of the company for this interview! I have a PhD in pharmaceutical and biological sciences. I worked in the chemical & pharmaceutical sectors. I was a teacher, also. And for many years now, I work in the food industry! »
What are you day-to-day duties ?
« I implement analytical methods on our yeast products. This allows us to link our products’ compositions to the performances observed in our customers’ applications. »
Complete my sentence : « I am the best in… »
« Well… I am not often given the opportunity to congratulate myself! Curiosity is important when working in the analytics’ field, and especially when working on complex matrices like ours. I am also good at synthesizing data and coming up with correlations between the mode of production and the application of our ingredient. This is how we find solutions! I consider myself rather humble. I enjoy questioning established beliefs and views to try to make science move forward. »
Describe Biospringer in 3 words.
« Biospringer is a global company which has managed to remain local in how we go to market. We are an established industry that keeps innovating through research & development. Our products come from natural origin without any chemical processing. These products are true solutions for the current clean label trends in the marketplace for food, oenology, fermentation or biotechnology! »
Given your long experience, would you have an anecdote to tell us ?
« In 1997, we organized an open factory day for Maisons-Alfort’s residents. At the time, we were still doing alcohol purification in the distillery. It was a very old building from the beginning of the 20th century and we told the visitors we would tear it down soon. They were all shocked : « Why would you do that? », they said. We had no choice, we had to do it for safety reasons. It almost felt like this gorgeous red brick building was part of their own heritage. »
Would you recommend working for Biospringer ?
« A few years ago an intern told me that it was not common to work for the same company for 10 years. This intern is still here! And it’s thanks to Biospringer caring environment. There are many opportunities for professional development and even young people with business change culture stay, because Biospringer has its charm. »
One last word ?
« Now I would say « it’s time for youth! ». Young people benefit from all their predecessor’s know-how. They bring energy, enthusiasm and the technology knowledge. I think we have a good mix to remain an innovative company and achieve excellence! »
