Inside Thermo Fisher's Carbon-Neutral Manufacturing Site
Thermo Fisher Scientific has opened a 375,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Mebane, North Carolina.
Purpose-built for high-volume pipette tip production, the plant supports the company’s wider strategy to reinforce its domestic manufacturing footprint and meet growing demand across the life sciences sector.
The Mebane site is set up to manufacture at least 40 million pipette tips per week. These components are essential in pharmaceutical production, research and diagnostic workflows.
Thermo Fisher says the new plant will contribute to supply chain continuity for critical laboratory equipment, particularly for customers involved in life-saving diagnostics and medicine development.
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."
Scaling local capacity for laboratory manufacturing
The plant operates as a centre of excellence for pipette tip production.
Pipette tips are small, disposable plastic components used to transfer precise volumes of liquid. In laboratory and pharmaceutical settings, they play a central role in automated workflows for testing, analysis and product development.
To meet escalating demand, the Mebane site incorporates high-speed automation.
The line produces 96 pipette tips every 12 seconds, with capacity for 5,000 final assemblies each hour. Integrated packaging and logistics systems streamline order fulfilment and shipping operations.
Thermo Fisher maintains strict quality control across its manufacturing processes.
The company sources high-grade raw materials and enforces stringent standards to minimise contamination risks and ensure accuracy, which is critical for applications in clinical diagnostics and regulated pharmaceutical environments.
With these measures in place, the site is positioned to support not just long-term customer demand but also rapid production scale-ups in response to public health emergencies or other market changes.
Josh Stein, Governor of North Carolina, highlights the role the plant plays within the regional and national economy: "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."
Strategic growth supported by federal investment
Thermo Fisher has so far filled 40 roles at the Mebane site, with another 50 to follow across manufacturing, engineering and business functions.
These jobs form part of the firm’s wider regional base, which includes around 7,800 employees across 13 sites in North Carolina.
Its current state footprint covers laboratory equipment in Asheville, three life sciences production sites in Durham, pharmaceutical manufacturing in Greenville and High Point and a distribution centre in Raleigh.
Construction of the Mebane facility follows a US$192.5m contract awarded in 2021 in partnership with the US Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense. The funding supports the build-out of resilient domestic manufacturing for critical healthcare components.
At a national level, Thermo Fisher’s manufacturing footprint has doubled since 2017, and the company now employs more than 50,000 people across the US.
It has also committed US$1bn annually to research and development activity within the country.
High-volume site supports agile production
The carbon-neutral facility in Mebane is built to enable high-volume, domestic production of essential lab consumables.
Automation across moulding, assembly and logistics reduces production times, lowers exposure to overseas sourcing risks and allows Thermo Fisher to meet short lead times with consistent output.
By producing pipette tips at scale, the company says it helps protect the availability of essential research and diagnostic tools, especially in fast-changing healthcare and life sciences markets.
The Mebane plant forms a key part of Thermo Fisher’s plan to strengthen regional supply chain ecosystems and enhance operational resilience in critical infrastructure categories.
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."
