BD to Invest $60 Million in Nebraska Manufacturing Facility
3 May 2017
BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), a leading global medical technology company, today announced it will invest $60 million to upgrade its Columbus-East facility into a plastic molding manufacturing center of excellence by 2021.
The investment will add 69,000 sq. ft. to the facility to transform it into the flagship plastic molding manufacturing facility for BD, and it will become one of the largest and most sophisticated plastic molding plants in the world. The new facility will centralize and insource a majority of BD’s North American plastic molding production that is currently produced by third-party manufacturers. BD is one of the largest users of plastic molded products in the world, with more than 700 billion units manufactured each year.
“With four manufacturing plants across our state, BD is a great example of a company that understands the value of investing in its Nebraska workforce to support its global business,” said Gov. Pete Ricketts. “My economic development team has built a strong, collaborative relationship with BD, and we look forward to helping the company continue to invest and grow in our state.”
The transformation of the Columbus-East facility will occur over a four-year period, and the company plans to continue manufacturing its current pre-fillable glass syringe production lines while transforming the facility into a plastics molding manufacturing center of excellence.
“Columbus is home to BD’s largest and longest-running manufacturing facility in the world, and we are excited to bring cutting-edge technology and production to the area,” said Steve Sichak, executive vice president and chief integrated supply chain officer of BD. “Columbus will be the centerpiece for our plastic molding manufacturing strategy for North America, supporting multiple business units in the U.S. and around the world.”
BD plans to invest $7 million to retain and retrain its associates for the different skill sets needed for plastic molding manufacturing or to facilitate their transfer to its other manufacturing facility in Columbus or other sites across the BD network. BD is working with local and state officials to develop the necessary training programs and curriculum to be administered in educational institutions in the Columbus area.
In September, BD announced a $100 million investment in its Holdrege, Neb. facility to expand capacity for its insulin syringe manufacturing operations, bringing BD’s total commitment to Nebraska to $160 million in the past eight months alone. In addition to Columbus and Holdrege, BD also has operations in Broken Bow, Neb. and employs approximately 2,500 people across the state.
Source:bd.com