Siemens Invests $300M In Massachusetts Manufacturing Facility, Broadens Footprint In U.S.
Siemens Healthineers will broaden its footprint in the United States by investing $300 million into its manufacturing facility based in Walpole, Mass. The facility, which manufactures immunoassay instruments and houses a portion of Siemens Healthineers’ R&D efforts in diagnostics, will begin renovations in the summer of 2017.
The Walpole facility previously belonged to Bayer’s diagnostics arm, which was acquired by Siemens in 2007 and facilitated the latter company’s expansion in the high-growth molecular diagnostics market. In a press release, Franz Walt, president of laboratory diagnostics at Siemens Healthineers, noted that Walpole has 37 years of experience in manufacturing, and expanding its presence is “an opportunity to leverage the local talent in the community to further our growth and expansion plans.”
The renovation project, slated to begin in the summer of 2017, will expand the existing 500,000-square-foot facility to add more manufacturing, warehouse, and lab space. Siemens Healthineers is committed to creating at least 400 new positions, but may add as many as 700 by 2026.
“The expansion of the Walpole facility fits into the strategic growth plans for the company and allows us to increase our manufacturing foot print in the United States, the largest healthcare market in the world,” said Bernd Montag, CEO of Siemens Healthineers.
The Walpole facility currently manufactures assays that run on the Advia Centaur family of immunoassay instruments and consumables for the company’s blood gas and molecular testing instruments. The Atellica Solution, which was introduced in August and is pending review by the FDA, also will be manufactured in Walpole, once it is cleared for market.
Siemens’ board of directors voted Wednesday to approve the $300 million investment in Walpole. The Boston Globe reported that the town of Walpole granted Siemens a generous property tax break earlier this year, and state officials in Massachusetts laid out an additional $4.2 million in tax breaks, infrastructure outlays, and grants for workforce training.
“I am proud that Siemens has chosen to grow its laboratory diagnostics unit in Massachusetts,” said Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker. “The Commonwealth is pleased to continue building a pro-growth economic environment that creates more jobs for our communities and remains focused on supporting globally competitive life sciences and advanced manufacturing.”
Siemens Healthineers recently partnered with Northwell Health, a healthcare provider network based in upstate New York, to advance research projects and population health management efforts. The partnership is the first of its kind for both organizations. In October, Siemens Healthineers signed a five-year strategic alliance with IBM Watson Health to advance population health management solutions.
In a recent earnings call, Siemens’ CEO Joe Kaeser announced that the company may be looking to sell or spin off Siemens Healthineers, which is worth an estimated $15 billion. Kaeser did not specify a timeline for the spinoff, but he commented that Siemens will continue to strengthen the business and, in the event of a spinoff, will likely remain a majority shareholder.