2007-06-05 - ABB is supplying GE Healthcare with a complete automation solution that will help boost production of protein separation media for the booming biopharmaceuticals industry by 50 percent.
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The plant, located at the global headquarters of GE Healthcare’s Life Sciences division in Uppsala, Sweden, will be the world’s most advanced facility for the production of protein separation media.
Protein separation is the first step in the development of new biopharmaceutical drugs based on proteins and the mapping of the human genome. It is a rapidly growing industry and GE Healthcare is the world’s leading supplier of protein separation products.
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GE Healthcare’s Life Sciences division in Uppsala, Sweden, home to the world’s most advanced facility for production of protein separation media.
The new facility will consist of two production units that will increase GE Healthcare’s manufacturing capacity for protein separation media by 50 percent. Both units will be controlled and monitored by ABB’s award-winning System 800xA extended automation system.
Third installation on site
The regulatory-compliant solution will control and monitor 4,000 input/output signals from tanks, reactors, valves, stirrers and other process equipment, and includes functionalities like integrated batch control and management as well as record protection and retrieval.
This will be the third installation of a System 800xA-based solution at the site. Previously ABB has supplied automation solutions for a chemical recovery plant and a wastewater treatment plant to help GE Healthcare achieve its environmental targets cost-effectively.
GE Healthcare and ABB have been collaborating for some 15 years at the Uppsala site. The new production plant is part of a $100 million investment by GE Healthcare to boost production and minimize environmental costs at its life sciences divisional headquarters.