Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has announced that it has established the China Innovation Center in Shanghai, significantly expanding its research, development and training capabilities to support high-growth markets in the Asia-Pacific region.
Thermo Fisher has invested $9.5 million in the new China Innovation Center to support its rapidly growing R&D organization, which is expected to add 200 to 300 engineers during the next two to three years. The new facility will include a Technology Training Center to instruct up to 2,500 customers per year in the use of its industry-leading chromatography and mass spectrometry systems, among other technologies.
“China is one of our fastest-growing markets and continues to be a key contributor to our success,” said Marc N. Casper, president and chief executive officer of Thermo Fisher Scientific. “The China Innovation Center builds on our well-established local presence and is an important next step as we align our product development efforts with investments in our manufacturing infrastructure.”
Coming on the heels of the company’s new Suzhou manufacturing facility, which opened in November 2012, the China Innovation Center supports product engineering, development and training to meet the specific needs of customers in China and Asia-Pacific. Thermo Fisher built the $20 million Suzhou plant to address increased demand for laboratory equipment and consumables from life sciences customers in the region.
The China Innovation Center includes more than 30,000 square feet of biology laboratories, design-verification-test and application laboratories. An additional 10,000 square feet are reserved for training, allowing for multiple training courses to be taught simultaneously.
Since entering the Chinese market three decades ago, Thermo Fisher has established a strong commercial, manufacturing, and research and development infrastructure, becoming one of the largest companies serving the life sciences market in the country. The company founded its original China Technology Center in 2010 as a research and development site for instruments and other products for Asia-Pacific markets.
Thermo Fisher’s revenue in China grew by more than 20 percent in 2012. In addition to Shanghai and Suzhou, the company has operations in Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Chengdu, Shenyang and Xi’an, with nearly 2,300 employees in the country.
Source: BusinessWire