The Madison Region is Producing Manufacturing Marvels
Products developed and made in the Madison Region are making a global impact.
Products researched, developed and manufactured in the Madison Region are helping save lives worldwide. Others are making life more comfortable and convenient. They are examples of how leadership in the global manufacturing and supply chain industries creates jobs and attracts investments to the eight-county region.
Promega, a major biotech company based in Fitchburg, just south of Madison, was called upon to assist global customers during the pandemic. The company manufactures reagents and other lab equipment and materials for companies worldwide.
During the pandemic, the company’s lab materials were highly demanded for COVID-19 diagnostic tests. Many of the materials were produced at the company’s Madison Region location, which includes new research and manufacturing facilities.
“Promega manufacturing is highly vertically integrated, meaning we produce much of our critical direct material in-house. We partner closely with our network of vendors to help us source what we do not produce ourselves. Over half of our suppliers are based within 50 miles of our Madison manufacturing facilities. We value being in a location that can support our highly specific work as a biotechnology manufacturer, and this region certainly delivers that for us,” says Chuck York, vice president of manufacturing operations.
Global Commerce
Madison-Kipp Corp. has attracted global investors to the region. The company is a leading producer of lightweight; high-pressure aluminum die castings, precision machined components and system subassemblies for customers in the transportation, industrial, lawn and garden, and recreational vehicle markets.
Madison-Kipp designs and manufactures a broad array of highly engineered components and assemblies with diverse applications at three Madison Region locations and an Indiana facility. The company’s growth caught the eye of Wanxiang America, which joined PineBridge Structured Capital Partners as a major investor. Wanxiang America has extensive holdings in automotive-related enterprises, real estate and clean energy.
The company’s growth and attractiveness to major investors are “a testament to Madison-Kipp’s capabilities and strong reputation for quality, responsiveness and reliability,” says Tim Kaderabek, president and CEO of Madison-Kipp.
The region is home to Amcor Flexibles Madison, part of Switzerland-based Amcor.
The company is a global leader in developing and producing responsible packaging for food, beverage, pharmaceutical, medical, home, personal care and other products. Examples include more sustainable packaging for pharmaceuticals and lighter plastic bottles.
With 46,000 employees at 225 locations in 40 countries, Amcor is an example of the enterprises that place Madison at the crossroads of global commerce.
Worldwide Impact
Promega is another example. The company has branches in 16 countries and has more than 50 global distributors. Promega has 1,900 employees, of whom 1,200 report to the main campus in Fitchburg.
The main Promega campus is home to research and development facilities, manufacturing processes and administrative departments. The campus features about 1.9 million square feet of facilities and has 15 buildings in the south Fitchburg area. This includes two newly constructed facilities — the Kornberg Center research and development building on the main campus and the Chappelle Manufacturing Center located 2.5 miles away.
Promega facilities outside this area include aviation operations at Dane County Regional Airport and Rosalind Franklin Center manufacturing on Madison’s east side.
The Kornberg Center and its component manufacturing facility, Chappelle Center, opened in 2021. They increased the company’s building footprint by 34% and incorporated best-in-class environmental design to minimize energy, water and waste.
Kornberg Center, a 283,000-square-foot research and development facility, provides laboratory and office space on three floors in an environment designed to nurture connection and innovation. In addition, the center integrates sustainable best practices that reduce energy use by 65% compared with comparable facilities.
Chappelle Manufacturing Center is a 158,000-square-foot facility that complements existing manufacturing capacities in Madison and California.
“Specific combinations of chemistry — reagent ‘tool kits’ — allow customers to carry out laboratory tests in the fields of cell biology; DNA, RNA and protein analysis; drug development; human identification; and molecular diagnostics. Our integrated systems provide instruments to automate various research and lab procedures, increasing efficiency and precision,” York says. “We make high-quality tools that life scientists around the world use to answer their most challenging questions.”
If you’d like to learn more about the Madison Region, check out the latest edition of Livability: Madison Region.
