Industry News

Honda R&D Americas will open its 11,000-sf marine engine research facility in Grant-Valkaria, Fla., in December of 2008. Supporting testing and product development for boat motors, the sustainably-designed facility will feature local and recycled construction materials, rainwater harvesting, passive heating, a wind-powered air conditioning system, and the use of biodiesel fuel.

SANYO Commercial Solutions introduced its newly redesigned MIR-154 and MIR-254 refrigerated incubators in October of 2008. Offering a wide variety of temperature range, humidity and lighting patterns, the MIR-154 and MIR-254 environmental test chambers enable studies to be accurately reproduced and controlled.

Fort Valley State University broke ground on a $20 million science center in October of 2008 in Fort Valley, Ga. Slated for completion in fall of 2009, the 59,000-sf building will house seven biology teaching labs, five chemistry labs, a geology lab, and a physics lab. The project will also provide faculty research labs, an 80-seat auditorium, and four classrooms.

Charles River Laboratories opened its 60,000-sf preclinical facility in Shanghai in October of 2008. The drug development building will begin providing GLP (Good Laboratory Practice) biopharmaceutical research and development services in the first quarter of 2009. The project includes vivarium facilities for animal research and will comply with AAALAC (Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care) and U.S. FDA guidelines.

GSI Group, a manufacturer of laser and precision motion technologies, completed a 150,000-sf renovation of its Bedford, Mass., facility in October of 2008. Comprised of improvements to 90,000-sf of manufacturing, testing, and assembly areas and 60,000-sf of office space, the project included the creation of Class 100,000 cleanroom environments. The project team included Winter Street Architects and RDK Engineers.