Anatomy of a Drug Manufacturing Plant (Part 2 in a Three-Part Series Examining the Financial Impact of New Plant Construction)

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Reported by Annette Kreuger, Industrial Info Resources, (Sugar Land, Texas)--As the actual construction begins on a new pharmaceutical or biotech plant, the positive financial impact continues to resonate across an incredible number of companies. For illustrative purposes, this brief will focus on Novo Nordisk's (NYSE:NVO) (Bagsværd, Denmark) $1.8 billion planned active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) production plant in Clayton, Johnson County, North Carolina.

The new plant will be located on a 95-acre site adjacent to Novo Nordisk's existing 457,000 square foot Clayton facility. Expanded several times since it opened in 1996, Novo Nordisk's current plant in Clayton is one of the company's strategic production sites responsible for formulation, filling and packaging of diabetes medicines. The plant also assembles and packages the company's FlexPen and FlexTouch prefilled insulin devices for the U.S. market.

The new API operation will encompass 900,000 square feet of building space, consisting of production and storage buildings, a water-treatment plant and administrative area. The state has agreed to build a new bridge specifically for access to the complex.

The expansion will employ up to 2,500 people during the peak of construction and the creation of 700 jobs upon completion in 2020. During construction, the study believes that the project will generate 5,100 full-time and part-time jobs across the county and add $1 billion coming into the local economy from the compensation paid to the workers who build the facility.

Beyond the core project team, scores of subcontracting firms and their skilled labor (carpenters, plumbers, pipefitters, painters) are required for construction, benefiting the local and state economy.

The construction of an actual manufacturing plant calls for a staggering amount of both process and ancillary equipment from a variety of suppliers. Beyond the actual materials required for the buildings themselves, reactor vessels, process controls and automation, ultrafiltration, process vessels and cleanroom equipment are just a small sampling of the key items needed. Piping is needed for delivering chilled water, deionized (DI) water, water for injection (WFI) and compressed air for cleaning, rinsing and drying activities. The spec list for a job of this size and scope is seemingly endless.

While high-tech manufacturing equipment is to be expected, it is easy to overlook the somewhat more commonplace products and services required for a new plant. Essential items needed include floor and wall coverings, cabinetry, window coverings, office furnishings, light fixtures, benches, signs and restroom fixtures. The list continues with parking lot paving and striping, external signage, landscaping and sprinkler systems.

The next and final article of this series will look at the financial impact that follows the construction of a pharmaceutical or biotech plant. Who gains what when the plant finally begins operations?

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com/.