Kortrijk (The Brussels Morning newspaper): The Van Poucke lab in Kortrijk known for its medical testing shut down on July 18 due to financial struggles and failed acquisition talks leaving about 30 employees without jobs.
The Van Poucke lab in Kortrijk has been big in medical tests for 50 years.They’re famous for being really good at testing and are a trusted name in healthcare. Six years ago the famous Van Poucke lab in Kortrijk was bought by Eurofins a big French company in lab services. Eurofins is known worldwide for its many labs and different testing services in areas like drugs, food, environment and medical tests. Buying Van Poucke helped Eurofins grow in medical testing by adding Van Poucke’s skills and good reputation to its business everywhere. Since Eurofins bought Van Poucke the lab probably got better with more money, new technology and worldwide connections.People in the area can now get more types of tests because Eurofins has many labs and knows a lot about testing.
What Led to the Closure of Van Poucke Lab in Kortrijk?
Carmen Matthis from Lysias Advocaten said the company had big problems because it was old-fashioned. They didn’t update or get new clients so it was hard to keep running and make money. Since they didn’t invest in updating and getting more clients the company couldn’t survive and went bankrupt. The company had some tough times recently but we’re not sure exactly why. But at the end of last month something happened. The company’s main office got hit hard on the French stock market. The shares went down by 21 percent because people accused the top boss of fraud. This accusation probably made investors worried so the company’s stock value dropped a lot.
The company in Kortrijk shut down on July 18. They were talking to someone who might buy the company but that fell through. So they had to let all the employees go. The company had about 30 workers and 3 biologists who worked for themselves. The employees were doing well and many had been there for a long time. Now they need to find new jobs.
