KeyPlants establishes U.S. organization and manufacturing of modular facilities

KeyPlants, a leading supplier of modular solutions for the life science industry, has now expanded its global footprint with addition of a U.S.-based KeyPlants organization and a strategic partner to manufacture KeyPlants PODs and modular facilities for the U.S. and Canadian markets. It will be headed by former Merck Director Andrew Dell.

“As part of our long-term strategy, we’re excited to be able to provide U.S. manufacturing capability, with rapid delivery of PODs and modular facilities to customers across the U.S. and Canada,” says KeyPlants CEO Jörgen Harrysson.

Lowest total cost of ownership
Harrysson explains that in strengthening its North American footprint, KeyPlants aims to reinforce its global delivery model for its portable on demand (POD) solutions and innovative modular facilities. This will allow the company to take advantage of global standardization to provide cost-effective solutions at high speed.

“With manufacturing in the U.S. northeast, our mobile X-press PODs solutions launched earlier this year can be on-site and ready for operations in as few as five weeks,” Harrysson says. “This compares to a year or more to build a conventional facility from scratch. And we do it at a very competitive price point.”

Pharma veteran to head new organization
KeyPlants’ U.S. operations will be headed by former Merck Director Andrew Dell. “Andrew knows modular construction well and understands pharmaceutical and biotech companies’ business requirements and their pain points,” says Frans Maas, Chief Business Officer and board member of the Masco Group, KeyPlants’ parent company.

“Coming from the client side makes a great addition to the team as we further develop the American market with our innovative solutions for modular life sciences facilities,” he adds.

Dell, who will be responsible for the U.S. market, adds that besides reducing project risk and project cost, X-press PODs and other prefabricated solutions are designed to accelerate commercialization for new products and processes as well as to support clients in implementing distributed manufacturing (DM) and point-of-care (POC) manufacturing strategies.

“All of this speeds the development of cutting-edge therapies and offers maximum flexibility in production,” Dell says. “We are really focusing in on how our PODs and modular facilities can provide the most cost-effective operations, with innovations that enable our products to be reconfigurable and agile. So, as our client’s business needs change, our PODs and modular facilities can pivot to best support whatever’s next.”

Maximum flexibility for lowest TCO
KeyPlants is also introducing internal modules for box-in-box facility fit-outs that provide maximum future flexibility and agility to enable overall cost-effectiveness throughout a facility’s lifecycle. “Traditionally, pharma/bio manufacturing assets are designed and built for specific product or process parameters, but it’s not unusual for the business to repurpose or redirect a manufacturing facility long before its end of life,” says Fredrik Eneqvist, Head of Product Development at KeyPlants. “KeyPlants’ PODs and modular facilities have pre-engineered capabilities that allow a client to reconfigure, repurpose or replace sub-components of the facility instead of a traditional construction renovation.

“This not only saves money and time but reduces risks and delays associated with construction and renovations of active operating facilities. It gives clients the ability to pivot and evolve based on changes in demand.”

Solution to mitigate supply-chain havoc
In addition, as capacity demands are becoming increasingly unpredictable, the need for flexible manufacturing has become even clearer —especially post-pandemic. This need has also increased as pandemic-related supply-chain issues have created havoc in many industries around the world, including pharmaceuticals.

“We offer clients the flexibility to choose their own equipment platforms,” Harrysson adds. “KeyPlants Process Engineering team has experience working with various process technology equipment suppliers and integrators. KeyPlants also has the depth of internal staff to support turnkey projects with capabilities that include facility and process design, automation, procurement, and project controls as well as services to support qualification and process validation.

“Now, as part of the Masco Group, we are focused on strengthening our global presence and building a robust organization and partnership relations to meet the challenges facing the life science industry.”