Industry News

Taconic, Inc. opened its new Isolator Breeding Solutions (IBS) facility in Rensselaer, N.Y. in March of 2008. Located in the University at Albany Foundation's East Campus biotechnology park, the 23,000-sf facility will accommodate isolator production of rats and mice for biomedical research. Enabling Taconic to expand its capacity for isolator breeding, the facility will feature advanced environmental regulation and monitoring systems as well as a redundant alarm system and backup power generator. 

DRE Veterinary has expanded its product line of veterinary anesthesia machines to include the DRE Titan, a large animal anesthesia system. Engineered for maximum versatility and unmatched accuracy, the Titan is perfect for anesthetizing equine, bovine, and zoological animals. Veterinary surgeons can utilize the DRE Titan Large Animal Anesthesia Machine for simple anesthesia functions like controlling spontaneous breathing, as well as more rigorous functions like controlling animal ventilation.

The U.S. Army broke ground in March of 2008 on a $477 million communications facility at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. Part of the BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) initiative, the 1.5 million-sf facility is expected to reach occupancy in fall of 2010. The general contractor is Whiting-Turner Contractors. The building will house C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) operations relocated from a base in Fort Monmouth, N.J. that is slated for closure.

Northrop Grumman Corp. will initiate construction in mid-2008 on a 100,000-sf laboratory and office building in Huntsville, Ala. The facility represents the second phase of the four-building, $80 million Cummings Research Park and will enable Northrop Grumman to consolidate area operations. 

The National Centre for Zoonosis Research opened in Leahurst in the United Kingdom in March of 2008. Based at the Liverpool University Leahurst veterinary field station, the facility will accommodate collaborative zoonotic disease research. Supported by a £1.7 million grant from the North West Development Agency, the project included renovating a former graduate student housing facility to accommodate a suite of Category 3 laboratories, including a bacterial zoonoses lab, administrative offices, and lecture facilities.