Sharp Packaging Solutions increases packaging capacity at new facility
Sharp Packaging Solutions (sharpservices.com)has increased its packaging capacity by 30% for its life science customers with a $45 million investment in a new Center of Excellence for specialty/biologic/cold chain packaging on Penn Am Drive in Allentown, PA, and in the addition of four new bottling lines within its adjacent 270,000-square-foot contract packaging facilities at 7451 and 7529 Keebler Way. The Center of Excellence marks Sharp’s third expansion within the Allentown campus since 2014. The contract packaging building at 7529 Keebler Way opened in 2014 and houses six packaging suites, and a technical warehouse and office suite facility opened in 2014 at 7350 William Avenue.
Sharp seized the opportunity to purchase the 112,000-square-foot Penn Am Drive building in 2014, and began interior demolition and construction to offer a state-of-the-art biologic and specialty product packaging operation, complete with comprehensive cold chain and serialization capabilities. After internal construction was completed earlier this year, Sharp moved the company’s existing specialty and biologic packaging lines from its Keebler Way plant to the new Center. It then installed 2 to 8° C cold storage to house 600 pallets, doubling its total refrigeration capacity, and invested in additional packaging and serialization equipment. The investment in this new facility substantially increases Sharp’s ability to handle specialty packaging requirements, with room to increase capacity for these products an additional 30%. Qualification and commissioning of the Center of Excellence was completed in April 2016, and Sharp commenced commercial packaging activities in June.