About Us

Our Story

Identifying a need for a cattle reproduction service for North Queensland, Dr Callan Solari, Chris Giles and Cody Sheahan realised they had a shared ambition to start a full-time, fully equipped, large animal reproduction centre. Together, they formed Gener8 Reproduction.

Although Gener8 began operating in late 2020, the business officially launched at the largest annual stud cattle sale in Northern Australia in February of 2021. With a reputation as the beef capital of Northern Australia, surrounded by cattle production in all directions and hosting the majority of the stud cattle sales held north of Rockhampton, Charters Towers was the ideal location to launch the venture.

Gener8 started from very humble beginnings, initially only servicing a small number of local clients. Chris and his wife, Lauren, spent long days manually processing and printing straws from their own home using minimal, manual equipment. This property doubled as the first ‘reproduction centre’, housing bulls on-site. As a start-up, and on the back of the incredible support from the North Queensland beef industry, Gener8 was able to direct all profits back into the business, continually upgrading plant and equipment. Initial re-investment was poured into electronic and automated equipment, significantly increasing the capacity and quality control as the demand for semen production continued to rise.

Before long, Gener8 Reproduction had purchased a 100-acre property in the Charters Towers region to serve as the permanent home of the centre. Permanent infrastructure to house bulls worth upwards of $150 000, a purpose-built laboratory, and storage facility to house genetic material was quickly added, creating a fully fledge large animal reproduction centre. In 2022,  Zeta joined the team in response to the increasing demand for Gener8 services.

As the business grew, so did the service area - but servicing a larger area meant long periods of travel and an increased risk of samples losing their integrity. To ensure clients from further afield also had access to the same standard of care as those nearer to town, a mobile laboratory was established. This hit the road in 2022, enabling the provision of high-quality services for clients from central Queensland to the Atherton Tablelands. Additionally, this mobile lab has given Gener8 the ability to provide fresh semen Fixed-Time AI programs.

In late 2023, Gener8 partnered with Tropical Vets. Following a business re-structure in late 2024, Tropical Vets assumed the responsibility of the management of Gener8 Reproduction, under the guidance of Dr Callan Solari as managing director. The team was re-developed, with the appointment/promotion of Zeta Berryman as Centre Co-ordinator and Dr Regan Lynch as the Senior On-Centre Veterinarian. Dr Shannen Gordon and Dr Zane Squarci, both senior veterinarians and directors at Tropical Vets, are both integral members of the Gener8 team, assisting in managing operations throughout North Queensland. 

The future for Gener8 Reproduction is bright. With facility upgrades underway and expansion of services offered both on-centre and on-farm, we are deeply committed to increasing the accessibility of large animal reproduction and veterinary services throughout northern Australia.