Sterigenics International, a provider of contract sterilization, lab services, gamma technologies and medical isotopes, has completed a $17.5 million expansion to its Fort Worth, TX facility, making it the largest sterilization facility in the company’s global network.

The expansion includes the installation of a new, state-of-the art Nordion JS10000 gamma irradiator that will increase Sterigenics’ total capacity.

“Fort Worth’s location along major transportation links makes it a natural distribution and logistics hub for manufacturers and for imports into the U.S.,” said Philip Macnabb, president, Sterigenics. “Our investment gives Sterigenics the extra capacity we need to benefit from these opportunities and will help make us the provider of choice for sterilization services in the Southwest.”

Opened in 1984, Sterigenics’ Fort Worth facility provides routine gamma, GammaStat rapid processing and process validation, and offers laboratory testing services through its Nelson Labs business. The expansion increases the facility’s total sterilization throughput by 60%, adding 50,000 pallets per year in capacity, 20 new employees, and 60,000 square feet to the building’s footprint. At 145,000 square feet, Fort Worth is now the largest operation in Sterigenics’ global network.

“Local and regional demand for sterilization in Fort Worth has been growing for years,” said Aaron Morrison, general manager, Sterigenics. “This additional gamma capacity can shorten turnaround times for sterilization customers, helping them get their products into the market faster.”

To address the growing need for sterilization in many parts of the world, Sterigenics said it is making significant investments in technology to expand both Gamma and Ethylene Oxide (EO) capacity throughout its global network. On the Gamma side, in June 2017, Sterigenics completed a project that tripled throughput at its operation in West Memphis, AR, and opened a significant expansion in Gurnee, IL, in 2015. In addition, Sterigenics has expansion projects underway at its EO facilities in Ontario, Canada, Costa Rica, and Wiesbaden, Germany.