Cambrex completes $50 million expansion project

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

Cambrex announced this week the completion of a $50 million expansion project at its Charles City facility that will boost the plant’s manufacturing capacity by 30%.

The startup of the new manufacturing space is the result of a two-year project, announced in 2020, to increase the capacity of Cambrex’s flagship active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) facility, the company said in a statement Tuesday.

“The expansion positions Cambrex with the largest and most advanced API facility in the United States and ensures the long-term capacity to support Cambrex’s existing customer base and future growth supported by robust market demand,” the company said.

“The opening of our Charles City facility expansion is a significant milestone for Cambrex, solidifying our position as the leading U.S.-based provider of small molecule APIs,” said Thomas Loewald, CEO of Cambrex.

“We continue to see strong demand for high quality, U.S.-based development, and manufacturing of new APIs, and we are excited to offer our existing and potential new customers access to the best-in-class capabilities of our Charles City facility,” Loewald said.

With the expansion, Cambrex’s Charles City facility has more than 400 employees and an installed reactor capacity of more than 25,000 gallons (approximately 3,500 cubic feet).

With multiple large-scale manufacturing areas, the facility is able to reduce production time by being able to manufacture several products with complex chemical processes in parallel.

The Charles City facility is located on a 45-acre property and produces a wide range of APIs and pharmaceutical intermediates, including highly potent molecules and controlled substances.

According to the fiscal year 2021 report by the Iowa Economic Development Authority, Cambrex has received state support for five expansion projects over the years, in 2006, 2012, 2015, 2017 and this latest one in 2020.

The projects represent a total of $148 million in capital investment at the Charles City facility. The five projects received $908,000 in direct economic development funding and $3.1 million in tax benefits, resulting in the creation of at least 160 additional jobs at the Charles City facility.

This latest addition also received a 90%, nine-year tax abatement on value added through the project, a $40,000 forgivable loan from Charles City, and a $30,400 forgivable loan from the Charles City Area Development Corp.

In addition to its expansion in Charles City, Cambrex continues to invest in additional small- and mid-scale API manufacturing capacity at its Karlskoga, Sweden, and High Point, North Carolina, facilities, the company said. New capacity at those facilities is expected to come online late this year and mid-2023, respectively.