Thermo Fisher Scientific has announced the opening of its innovative manufacturing centre of excellence facility in Mebane, North Carolina.

The new 375,000-square-foot carbon-neutral site will be capable of producing at least 40 million laboratory pipette tips per week, helping to ensure that life-saving medicines and therapies continue to be developed and produced in the US for decades to come, the company said in a statement.

Commenting on the development, Erica Hirsch, President, Laboratory Chemicals, Thermo Fisher Scientific, said, “As a global leader in life sciences manufacturing, we’re proud to serve as a growth engine for the American economy and provide our customers with a strong and agile supply chain that enables them to advance human health. The opening of our Mebane site is a testament to our larger strategy to strengthen our manufacturing capabilities in the US and support continued innovation and expanded growth in North Carolina, building on the strong foundation we’ve already established in this state.”

Pipette tips are critical tools for research and diagnostics, enabling precise liquid handling in high-volume applications such as disease studies and diagnostic testing. Thermo Fisher manufactures its tips with high-quality materials and strict quality controls to ensure accuracy, reduce contamination, and deliver consistent performance.

The new Mebane site is built for efficiency, with advanced automation that produces 96 tips every 12 seconds and 5,000 finished assemblies per hour. Designed for seamless operations, it also features automated packaging and shipping to meet growing customer demand, the company stated.

“Thermo Fisher Scientific’s new facility strengthens North Carolina’s leadership in the biotech sector and strengthens our domestic supply chain,” said Governor Josh Stein. “I am proud to welcome this global company to Mebane as it expands its North Carolina presence with 100 good-paying jobs.”

The site results from a USD 192.5 million contract, in coordination with the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the US Department of Defense (DoD), awarded in 2021. In addition to investing USD 1 billion in R&D in the US annually, Thermo Fisher has more than doubled in size in the US since 2017.