Thermo Fisher opens site in Utah as part of single-use spending spree
In September 2021, Thermo Fisher Scientific announced plans to expand its single-use manufacturing footprint across the globe using $650 million, starting with a new site in Nashville that would more than double its capacity.
On Wednesday, the company celebrated the opening of a $44 million facility in Ogden, Utah, that will manufacture highly customizable bioprocess container systems.

Known as BPCs, they’re used to transport and store liquids that are critical parts of biologics, vaccines and cell and gene therapies. The site will be 55,000-square-feet and has hired 300 employees. Another 450 people in the greater-Salt Lake City area could be hired for roles in safety, quality, manufacturing, engineering and human resources.
Mitch Kennedy, the president of Thermo’s single-use technologies, said in a statement:
The Ogden facility further strengthens our global manufacturing network, which has been growing to meet increasing demand for single-use consumables and critical raw materials,” This new facility expands our presence in Utah and locating here gives us the ability to work closely with our Logan site, providing access to a talented workforce that is ideal for manufacturing the highly complex and customized solutions we provide our customers.
It is the third Thermo Fisher manufacturing site in Utah. Locations in South Jordan and Logan are all within a 90-mile drive of each other.
Single-use tech’s popularity has grown nearly 30% in the past year, largely due to the ease it provides in manufacturing batches at a high rate. The bioreactors eliminate the need for cleaning chemicals that are used to ensure the purification of each drug batch and save time needed to clean the bioreactors in between batches. It cuts down on the risk of contamination, and the amount of water that manufacturers use.
“An integral part of Utah’s biotech community, Thermo Fisher has had a positive impact on Utah’s economy, providing several thousand jobs to Utahns around the state,” Utah Sen. Mitt Romney said in a statement. “(Thermo Fisher) also has played a critical role in our country’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic by helping pharmaceutical companies produce therapeutics and vaccines.”
Thermo Fisher also invested $40 million in a Millersburg, PA site that helped more than 20 different pharmas since the start of the pandemic back in February.