Bachem, Inc.

When Torrance, California based Bachem, Inc. decided to build an additional manufacturing facility for their rapidly growing business, company owners turned to LCS Constructors once again. LCS’s previous experiences with Bachem, and the ability to complete this intensely complicated project on a fast-track schedule at a competitive price, were the deciding factors in that selection.

The manufacturing processes found at Bachem California can be broken down into four major operations all leading to a finished product. Their operations include Synthesis, Cleavage, Purification, and Lyophilization and isolation through crystallization or precipitation of drug actives.

The Bachem facility required a full structural retrofit of the existing building to bring it up to California’s Seismic Building Codes. A new 47,000 CFM process cooling/heating system was installed to support the exhaust of 25 chemical fume hoods and various custom-made hoods. In order to support this new mechanical equipment a new structural steel platform was built through and above the existing roof diaphragm. Finally, LCS installed a stainless steel solvent piping delivery system and an ultra pure USP water system in poly vinyl Di fluoride (PVDF) piping.

The most challenging aspect of this project was the compact size of the facility. With a mere 12,000 sq ft to work with, the LCS Team was required to coordinate schedules and equipment with little to no lay space. This was a true demonstration of team work!