Sartorius has expanded its biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility Sartorius Stedim Campus, which is located in Yauco, Puerto Rico, US.
Completed in June 2019, construction of the expansion first began in 2016 with more than a $100m investment.
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The work has more than doubled the production capabilities of membrane filters and single-use bags for biopharmaceutical manufacturing. This will be used to speed up product supply to customers while meeting the company’s plan for future growth in the US.
Sartorius’ manufacturing facility location
The Sartorius Stedim Campus is located in Yauco, south-west of Puerto Rico. This is a robust manufacturing base for pharmaceutical and medical products for the US due to increasing business opportunities and growing investment.
Pharmaceutical and medical devices industries accounted for approximately 30% of the GDP of Puerto Rico in 2016. An estimated 8% of the key medical products used in the US are manufactured in Puerto Rico.
Details of the manufacturing facility
Sartorius’s expansion project involved the addition of a 40-acre site to the existing manufacturing facility in Yauco, which includes campus infrastructure, parking areas with open grid paving, and a fluid technologies (FT) membrane casting manufacturing facility.
Manufacturing operations will occupy approximately two million square feet. A new fluid management technologies (FMT) manufacturing facility has been developed in a 230,000ft² area. The project also involved the expansion of the existing 48,000ft² distribution centre and an ECO FT cleanroom spanning 55,000ft².
The FMT manufacturing facility will be used to manufacture fluid management system solutions customised according to the clients’ need.
The facility features two International Standardisation Organisation (ISO) Class 7-certified cleanroom manufacturing spaces spanning 30,000ft. A 50,000ft warehouse, office laboratories, a conference area, training spaces and lunch facilities will also be available.
An 80,000ft² FT membrane casting manufacturing facility has been developed as part of the expansion.
Sustainability features
Sartorius Stedim Biotech’s Yauco site has been strategically designed to reduce the impact on the environment. It followed the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) 90.1 2007 guidelines for achieving a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for New Construction (LEED-NC) v3 Gold certification.
This certification will expand the company’s current Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) platinum certification.
Sartorius diverted 80% of the construction waste and aims to reduce energy consumption by 35%. It also plans to save 78% of potable water compared to conventional facilities.
The facility uses water collected from rainwater harvesting and condensation of air-handling units to cool cleanrooms, and greywater for irrigation purposes. A 1MW solar photovoltaic (PV) system has been installed on the roof of the facility, which fulfils approximately 10% of its energy requirements.
The facility is equipped with ASHRAE ventilation and heat control, low-emitting finish materials, perforated metal fins, diaphanous screen walls, and modular furnishings to increase energy efficiency.
The strategies will allow the facility to save approximately $650,000 a year.
Contractors involved
Pieri Architects provided design services for the expansion project, while CIC Construction was the general contractor for the project.
Bermudez, Longo, Diaz-Masso (BLDM) was the sub-contractor for providing mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) services.
Marketing Commentary on Sartorius Stedim Biotech
Based in France, Sartorius Stedim Biotech offers solutions to the biopharmaceutical industry. The company’s products have a range of applications such as cell cultivation, cell analysis, purification, fermentation and fluid management.
The company operates manufacturing, marketing, and research and development (R&D) sites in more than 20 countries worldwide and employs more than 5,100 people on single-use technologies and value-added services.
More than 450 people currently work in the Yauco site of the company. The expansion is expected to significantly increase the number of employees.
