How Thermo Fisher Scientific is Powering Agile Supply Chains
In a move that looks set to arm customers with stronger, more agile supply chains, Thermo Fisher Scientific has opened the doors to a new 375,000-square-foot manufacturing site in North Carolina.
Built as a centre of excellence for pipette tip production, the carbon neutral facility in Mebane is capable of producing at least 40 million laboratory pipette tips each week. Such capacity will support the long-term availability of tools needed for the production of life-saving medicines and diagnostics across the US.
Erica Hirsch, President of Laboratory Chemicals at Thermo Fisher Scientific, says: "The opening of our Mebane site is a testament to our larger strategy to strengthen our manufacturing capabilities in the US and support continued innovation and expanded growth in North Carolina, building on the strong foundation we’ve already established in this state."
Expanding local manufacturing to meet demand
Pipette tips, used to move precise volumes of liquid, are essential tools in laboratory workflows including disease research and diagnostic testing.
Thermo Fisher’s production process relies on high-quality materials and rigid quality control to reduce contamination and ensure accuracy.
Amid growing demand for these laboratory essentials, the Mebane site incorporates high-speed automation capable of producing 96 pipette tips every 12 seconds and completing 5,000 assemblies every hour. The facility’s design integrates automated packaging and shipping functions to increase operational efficiency and meet customer expectations for speed and scale.
Josh Stein, Governor of North Carolina, points to the role the facility will play in both the state and national context: "Thermo Fisher Scientific’s new facility strengthens North Carolina’s leadership in the biotech sector and strengthens our domestic supply chain.
"I am proud to welcome this global company to Mebane as it expands its North Carolina presence with 100 good-paying jobs."
Thermo Fisher's strategic investment
Thermo Fisher has already filled 40 roles at the Mebane facility, with plans to add another 50 positions across manufacturing, engineering and business operations.
These jobs form part of the company’s wider presence in North Carolina, where it already employs around 7,800 people across 13 sites.
Current North Carolina operations include a centre of excellence for laboratory equipment in Asheville, three life sciences manufacturing facilities in Durham, pharmaceutical production sites in Greenville and High Point, and a distribution hub in Raleigh.
The Mebane facility is backed by a US$192.5m contract awarded in 2021 in coordination with the US Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense. The investment aligns with federal goals to build resilient domestic supply chains in critical sectors.
In parallel with this site’s development, Thermo Fisher invests US$1bn in R&D across the US each year. The company’s US footprint has more than doubled in size since 2017, now supporting more than 50,000 employees nationwide.
Delivering supply chain resilience
By producing pipette tips at scale within a carbon-neutral facility, Thermo Fisher is looking to support uninterrupted access to laboratory equipment essential to pharmaceutical development and disease research.
The opening of this new site adds a high-volume, automated supply chain hub in a strategic region with a growing life sciences workforce.
The site is designed to support long-term demand while enabling rapid response to shifts in market needs, particularly in the face of public health emergencies. The automation and shipping functions reduce lead times and limit dependence on overseas production, reinforcing supply chain agility across the US.
Thermo Fisher frames the Mebane facility as part of its broader strategy to expand capacity within the country while strengthening regional ecosystems for science and technology.
Erica concludes: "As a global leader in life sciences manufacturing, we’re proud to serve as a growth engine for the American economy and provide our customers with a strong and agile supply chain that enables them to advance human health."
