Waters Announces First LEED-Certified Chemical Manufacturing Facility in MA

Waters Corporation’s newly built Precision Chemical Manufacturing Facility in Taunton has achieved LEED certification. The products manufactured at this facility are essential for thousands of laboratories that ensure the quality and safety of medicines, food and water for millions of people worldwide. Waters’ Taunton site is the first and only LEED-certified chemical manufacturing facility in Massachusetts and among a small number of LEED-certified industrial manufacturing projects in the U.S.

The site nearly triples Waters’ manufacturing footprint, has already created 25 new jobs and provides growth capacity for years to come. To meet increased customer demand, achieve greater levels of operational efficiency, and continue its commitment to grow sustainably, Waters invested more than $215M since 2018 to build this state-of-the-art facility as a manufacturing Center of Excellence.

The 140,000 square-foot chemical manufacturing facility is built on an adjacent site to where Waters has been producing laboratory supplies and chemistry consumables since 1976. At this facility, Waters manufactures chromatographic particles which are the backbone of its chemistry consumables business and are responsible for more than $300 million in recurring annual revenue.

“The materials produced at Waters’ Taunton facility are at the heart of the science that goes into the development and testing of mRNA vaccines and therapies such as those made to prevent and treat COVID and detecting contaminants such as PFAS in drinking water,” said Waters President and CEO Dr. Udit Batra.

With the understanding that typical chemical manufacturing plants use large volumes of both energy and water, the Waters facility incorporates many innovative features designed to reduce environmental impact, including:

• State-of-the-art, on-site industrial waste containment and treatment technology designed to reduce overall building emissions by an estimated factor of six over Waters’ legacy manufacturing facility;
• Wastewater recycling technology that reclaims and filters wastewater for use in property irrigation, climate control and the building’s restroom facilities;
• And, the building’s LEED design is optimized for energy efficiency and indoor air quality, incorporating building materials that promote sustainability.

(Source: Waters Corporation Website, 26 September, 2022)