Cambridge Major Laboratories Inc. has renovated its U.S. headquarters in Germantown.
The global pharmaceutical chemistry company’s investment in its existing 300,000-square-foot facility has increased manufacturing capacity by almost 40 percent and will create 30 jobs.
The project cost $11.5 million, with the help of a $500,000 Impact Fund Loan from Economic Development of Washington County, said Christian Tscheschlok, executive director of EDWC.
The company uses reactor lab suites in the production of various chemicals, Tscheschlok said.
“This project is operationalizing a fourth production suite that they had existing in their current footprint,” he said.
The Germantown Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient manufacturing facility was built in 2009 and the company invested $13 million in another reactor capacity expansion in 2012.
The expansion has been completed, production has started and the company has filled almost 20 of the 30 jobs, said Brian Scanlan, president and CEO of Cambridge.
Cambridge has more than 240 employees worldwide, 170 of whom are at the Germantown location.
“This facility build-out is a great example of our willingness to rapidly respond to market demand, turning what was once open space into a high quality pharmaceutical manufacturing facility staffed to meet the needs of our expanding customer base,” Scanlan said. “Working in partnership with EDWC was fundamental to our success, and we are committed to working together to create high quality jobs in the Washington County region where there is a talented workforce.”
The renovation, which includes new equipment and technology, will allow CML to continue to compete globally on cost, Tscheschlok said.
EDWC is awarding its Impact Fund loans to companies that are already established in Washington County and are helping to drive economic growth, he said.
“We see them as effectively a catalyst, a driver business in Washington County’s economy and exactly the kind of existing business we want to support,” Tscheschlok said. “We’re looking for those companies that have demonstrated some success and are requiring additional fuel to keep their growth going.”
EDWC has another $1 million remaining in its fund, which is allocated in the county’s capital budget.
“We continue to be impressed with CML and value the impact that they have in Washington County,” Tscheschlok said. “They are a testament that the biomedical industries are not just an emerging industry in Washington County, but a growing one.”
