SiO2 Materials Science is investing $163 million to expand its production capacity for vaccine vials and syringes in Auburn, Ala. The company will increase the footprint of its existing facility in the Auburn Technology Park West to create a 70,000-sf manufacturing center with additional space for precision injection molding operations. A second molding plant will also be constructed nearby.
In June of 2020, SiO2 was awarded a $143 million contract by federal government agencies to support production scale-up of the company's patented vial platform, which combines a plastic container with a microscopic layer of pure glass on the inside. This packaging solution is ideal for the storage of vaccines and biological therapies, offering excellent thermal stability and integrity, mechanical durability, chemical stability, a gas barrier, and precision molding. Sio2's Auburn expansion is expected to create 220 skilled manufacturing jobs.
