October 26, 2007 EVEREETT, PA — More than 200 local, state and federal officials and guests celebrated Lampire Biological Laboratories 30th anniversary and the ribbon cutting for the company’s new Bioprocessing laboratory in Bedford County. By early 2008 the $2 million state-of-the art facility will employ 30, bringing the company’s 2008 employment in Bedford County to 70 and supporting a $2 million annual payroll.
The company, with headquarters in Pipersville, PA, is an international supplier of biological reagents serving the life science industry. Since its founding in 1977, Lampire has grown to more than 120 professionals offering expertise in cell culture, control reagent manufacturing, quality assurance, product development, veterinary science and animal husbandry.
"We came to Bedford County looking for farmland and an agricultural workforce," said Lampire President Gregory F. Krug. "We found an exceptional workforce and a supportive economic development climate that has encouraged us to expand operations here in Bedford County." Krug credited the Bedford County Development Association and its President Betty Slayton with being aggressive and creative in packaging economic development support for the company. "The support that has been accessed through BCDA's efforts has been critical to the growth of our small, privately-held company," Krug said. "Without that private-public partnership, our growth would not have been possible."
The county's exceptional workforce has been equally critical to its success in Bedford County, Krug said. "The dedication of our employees is second-to-none. In biotech, we're working with living things that don't operate on a 9 to 5 schedule. Our employees understand that and are committed to their work. It's not about the hours, it's knowing that the products the help manufacture are positively affecting human and animal lives throughout the world."
The new Everett Bioprocessing Laboratory is housed in a former textiles manufacturing plant that has been gutted and expanded to its current 18,000 square feet. The new facility offers a wide range of bioprocessing capabilities, including immunochemistry services, processing and packaging of blood products and contract manufacturing of diagnostic reagents and controls. The facility is complete with large-capacity freezer and refrigeration storage, specialty cleanrooms, environmentally controlled air-handling systems and high tech communication. The entire facility is on backup generator systems and also has high security and monitoring systems.
Since opening its first 125-acre farm in Bedford County in 1989, Lampire has steadily expanded its operations in the county, investing more than $8 million.
Krug said the new bioprocessing center opens up a wide variety of new doors for his company. "This facility has been designed and built to allow us to take manufacturing from the raw materials to finished products. We'll have more senior scientists here in Everett using the most advanced equipment in the industry and undertaking a wide array of product development."
The materials Lampire supplies are used in products such as diagnostic reagents that detect prostate cancer, to determine pregnancy, to calibrate hematology analyzers and in other instruments and tests that detect illnesses. Lampire products were used in the research to develop the HemCon Bandage that is now supplied as basic equipment to all American combat soldiers, saving more than 100 lives because of its ability to seal bleeding wounds. The applications for the company's products are varied and growing everyday.
In addition, Krug said he hoped the new facility will be the cornerstone for an expanding biotechnology sector in Bedford County. "We have a history of working with academicians and start-ups to create new products and nurture new companies," Krug said. �We hope that in the future this facility will help establish Bedford County as a recognized center for biotechnology." He noted that the Lampire facility's designation as a Keystone Innovation Zone will make it attractive to new biotech companies to move to Everett.
Looking back over the 30 years since the founding of his company, Krug said he "never would have guessed" it would grow into an internationally known biotech company. "One of the big things that's important is that it was fun when we started, and it remains fun today. We continue to try to be creative and are always searching for new opportunities to expand our products and manufacturing lines," Krug said. "It's a continual learning process."