Thermo Fisher to build new Chinese facility

Just like many of their pharma brethren, medical devicemakers are flocking to emerging markets, especially China. On Tuesday, Waltham, MA-based Thermo Fisher Scientific announced plans for a new manufacturing facility in China within the Suzhou Science and Technology Town. The company plans to develop and manufacture laboratory instruments, equipment and consumables for the Chinese market at the new facility, which is part of Thermo Fisher's strategy to aggressively expand its presence in the Asia-Pacific region. The facility is slated to be completed by early next year.

"China continues to grow significantly and is now our third largest country in terms of revenue," explains Thermo Fisher President and CEO Marc Casper in a statement. "By bringing Suzhou online to complement our existing facilities, we continue to increase our depth of capabilities and strengthen our competitive advantage in the region."

Over the past 12 months, Thermo Fisher has opened a second demonstration laboratory in Beijing and its new China Technology Center in Shanghai, bringing its total workforce in the country to more than 1,400. The company recently reported that its revenues in China grew by more than 14 percent in 2010 year to year.

- get the Thermo Fisher release 

ALSO: Mindray Medical has announced it will acquire a controlling stake of Shenzhen Shenke Medical Instrument Technical Development Co. Ltd. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed as the transaction is non-material to Mindray's financial statements. Mindray release