Published: 2/23/2016

The Smithers oversaw numerous facility improvements and expansions in 2015.

The Smithers, driven by input from clients, oversaw numerous facility improvements and expansions throughout its family of companies in 2015 while maintaining high levels of service to clients. 

Smithers expanded North American operations in two locations and added capabilities at its European chemistry laboratory located in the UK.

In Wareham, Massachusetts, the laboratory site was expanded by 11,500 square feet, effectively increasing capacity for the company’s Environmental Fate and Ecotoxicology services

New operations were established in the San Joaquin valley in Fresno, California, allowing for further expansion of field trials for higher-tiered pollinator services and residue trials

The chemistry laboratory located in Harrogate, England added two new pieces of mass spectrometry equipment, increasing capacity for high-sensitivity testing

"Over the past three years, our businesses have listened to our clients and worked to create plans for increasing capabilities and capacity in order to be the best possible partners. Our businesses have done an excellent job of taking the time to work hand in hand with our clients to identify the best areas for both investment and reinvestment. The recent expansions and improvements that have taken place across the organization position the Smithers Group companies well to meet new challenges in 2016."

Smithers supply chain and packaging industries, made improvements in several areas.

At the Ravenna testing facility, several upgrades to equipment and controls were made within the global tire testing laboratory in order to increase capacity in response to regulatory changes in the automotive industry

The winter testing proving grounds in Raco, Michigan were expanded with several new test areas and additional garage space.

Across all Smithers facilities new testing capabilities were added to several laboratories, adding capabilities for material property testing and whole product verification testing, including testing techniques like thermal shock, xenon arc weathering and flammability testing

Smithers saw a significant expansion of its Bioanalytical Services laboratory in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

In response to client needs for support during the development of large molecule biologics, the Bioanalytical laboratory was expanded to accommodate a 33 percent increase in staff

Additionally, the acquisition of liquid handling robotics and additional instrumentation to support high sensitivity assays will allow for additional testing capacity for this growing area