Bioscience Firm Breaks Ground on New Production Facility

Taconic Biosciences broke ground on a new production facility, expanding the footprint at its 27.9-acre Cambridge City, IN, campus. Slated for completion in September, the 5,960-square-foot building increases capacity and will benefit the Cambridge City community by bringing new jobs to the region. As the new facility ramps up production, Taconic expects to hire at least 12 employees in operations, quality, and veterinary sciences.

Pictured are (r to l): Chip Parsley, Director of Prefabrication Solutions, Poynter, Nathan Shinkle, Project Manager, Poynter, Nancy Sandy, CEO, Taconic, Connie Campisi, Director U.S. Commercial Production, Taconic, William Stevens, Vice President Human Resources & Organization Development, Taconic, Alaina Luther, Senior Director Supply Chain, Taconic, Keith Lehman, Manager Production, Taconic, and Jennifer King, Manager Production, Taconic.

“As our business expands, we looked to the Cambridge City location due to quality and availability of potential team members. Our employees are part of a dynamic and important industry providing valuable tools supporting drug development,” said Nancy J. Sandy, chief executive officer of Taconic. “This expansion will help increase the supply of Taconic’s products and services that are used by leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology and academic organizations.”

“As Taconic’s business grows, it’s vital that we strategically align our facilities and capabilities with our customers’ research facilities. With demand accelerating across the Midwest and West, it was time to boost our capacity in the region to bring more products closer to this growing customer base,” Sandy added.

The new building at the Cambridge City site will feature an open floor plan with improved workflow and ergonomics.

“Along with expanding our production capacity, the new building takes a more modern approach to lab animal facilities,” said Alaina Luther, senior director, supply chain. The design affords Taconic staff more flexibility and enables movement through the facility while maintaining biosecurity.

To bring this concept to reality, Taconic partnered with Poynter, a leader in prefabricated facility solutions. Poynter is constructing the modular building offsite for assembly onsite–an approach that shortens the project timeline and enables Taconic to begin leveraging additional capacity sooner.

“Taconic’s new facility is a unique build in Indiana and across the Midwest,” said Chip Parsley, director of prefabrication solutions, Poynter. “Even at a time when supply chain constraints are delaying many construction projects, our modular approach is enabling us to deliver a completed building three to four months faster than traditional construction timelines.” From design to procurement to completion, the project is expected to take only 12 to 13 months.

When it’s time to expand other production sites, Taconic can leverage the new building design and modular construction approach to speed the process. “Poynter can build additional modular facilities and ship them anywhere in the world,” Luther explained. “So as our customers’ requirements evolve, Taconic can respond quickly by expanding capacity where it’s needed most.”