It’s not to be taken for granted!
We’re happy to admit it: we’re proud of INVAC’s five years and a close-knit, very collegial working relationship that goes back even further. The first laboratory in the cellar is long gone, but it remains unforgettable.
Particularly in times like these, which are shaken by crises and marked by major challenges, we appreciate our unique company history and are celebrating it: with all our staff and, to some extent, with you too in this newsletter. And we’d really like to say thank you to everyone who has placed their trust in us for many years and who works with us to ensure that, together, we can achieve even more for the health of our animals.
It is a real pleasure for us!
Warm regards,
Dagmar Köhler-Repp
Dr Martin Metzner
Dr Alexander Repp
Jaroslaw Szubstarski
Five years of INVAC
From a basement laboratory to the INVAC Group
5th anniversary! A great opportunity to tell the story behind the company – a story that began 25 years ago.
After completing her degree in biology, Dagmar Köhler-Repp founded the RIPAC laboratory in 2001. The one-woman business was set up with the support of her father, the vet Dr Bernd Köhler, in the basement of her parents’ home. The idea was to develop customised vaccines for animals as an effective alternative to the use of antibiotics. With scientific curiosity, plenty of initiative and determination, the young entrepreneur gradually built up a successful laboratory, which later moved to the Potsdam Science Park. The laboratory team has grown steadily: Dr Martin Metzner, Dr Alexander Repp and Jaroslaw Szubstarski are among those who have helped shape the company’s path for many years – right up to the present day.
A new beginning built on experience
When Dagmar Köhler-Repp sold the RIPAC laboratory to an investor in 2021, it marked the end of a successful chapter, but not the end of her passion for research and animal health. Together with her long-standing management team, she decided to make a fresh start. That same year, they founded the INVAC Group.
Today, five years on, it has grown into an internationally active group of companies – with state-of-the-art laboratories, clients in several countries and a strong, dedicated team. The values that started it all remain: scientific curiosity, courage, trust and the conviction that sustainable success can only be achieved through collaboration.
For INVAC, this also means inspiring the next generation to take an interest in science and technology: together with Managing Director Dagmar Köhler-Repp, the company is committed to getting girls in particular interested in the natural sciences at an early age and encouraging them to bring their own ideas to life.
Grand anniversary celebration
As always, pictures speak (see PDF for photos) louder than a thousand words: there are now so many of us! It was great to see so many colleagues from Germany, Poland and our international field sales teams in Serbia and Lithuania able to join us at the anniversary celebrations at the Templin Forest House.
Following a joint sales and marketing workshop, there was time for personal conversations, good food and the chance to catch up away from the daily grind and across language barriers.
One Team. One Goal: Our anniversary motto was evident everywhere that day.
When the chemistry is right…
At INVAC, we’ve not only seen successful projects and great teams come to fruition, but also five very special bonds.
The next chapters
What happens next
As we look back on the past few years, our next projects are already underway: we are strengthening our sales team and pressing ahead with the refurbishment and expansion of our two INVAC laboratories in Poland, so that we can support our customers even better.
And in the future, too, we will continue to participate in international research projects and at specialist conferences to exchange knowledge, gain fresh insights and further develop our scientific work.
As always, we’ll be sharing more on this in our upcoming newsletters!
What we do for you today:
• Veterinary diagnostics
• Autogenous vaccines for farm animals, pets and zoo animals
• Pathogen analyses and strain bank comparisons
• Food and feed analysis, as well as microbiome analyses
• Monitoring and hygiene programmes
• Personal support from our sales team
• Advice and specialist support for vets and animal owners
• Research and development
• Express sample collection
