IMA Life North America Breaks Ground on New Facility in Tonawanda, NY

IMA Life North America held a groundbreaking ceremony on May 8, 2024 for its new 80,000-square-foot facility in Tonawanda, NY. The facility is being built to increase production for the company’s freeze-drying equipment.

The Tonawanda facility is planned to open in September 2024 and will feature 50,000 square feet of production space and 30,000 square feet of office space on 15 acres. This new facility will supplement IMA Life’s current 60,000-square-foot facility in Tonawanda. New York State will provide up to $1,127,443 in performance-based Excelsior Jobs Program tax credits through the NY’s economic development agency, Empire State Development (ESD), in return for IMA’s commitment to job creation with an additional 70 employees. ESD promotes the creation of new job through the use of loans, grants, tax credits, and other financial assistance to enhance private business growth in New York State.

“New York is continuing to bring the companies, the investment, and the talent to build the future of medicine in our state. IMA Life’s investment in Western New York will help provide the critical equipment needed for pharmaceutical companies to manufacture life-saving drugs, while also creating the jobs needed to grow and support the healthcare sector,” said New York Governor Kathy Hochul during the groundbreaking ceremony (1).

Ernesto Renzi, president of IMA Life North America, said, “We have deep respect for the life-saving medicines our customer’s process using IMA equipment, and we look forward to expanding our production capabilities and adding jobs right here in Western New York. The impressive competence of the workforce has allowed us to grow our customer base and expand the company.”

IMA Life North America is one of six IMA Life production sites. IMA Life produces equipment that meets maximum levels of sterility and is shipped worldwide. The Tonawanda facility manufacture large freeze dryers that rapidly convert vials of liquid medicines into a shelf-stable powdered form that is easy to transport. Products include blowers, washers, depyrogenating tunnels, liquid and powder fillers, freeze dryers, automatic loaders/unloaders, labelers, and isolation systems.

At INTERPHEX 2024 in New York City in April, IMA Life received the Best New Product/Service award for the company’s KryoAir air-based refrigeration system for freeze dryers. KryoAir is a single-state, oil-free system that requires minimal maintenance and can deliver consistent cooling output across different temperatures, according to the company (2).

The turbo-compressor-expander technology is augmented by the Cold Thermal Energy Storage (CTES) system, which harnesses the power of phase-transitioning compounds to maximize capacity per unit of volume. This enables the turbo-compressor-expander technology to support intensive and discontinuous energy applications.

“Pairing CTES with the turbo compressor expander, KryoAir transforms a well-established technology into a powerhouse of clean energy utilization. This dynamic synergy allows KryoAir to achieve extreme low temperatures with unprecedented efficiency, all while maintaining a compact and reliable design,” the company stated in a press release (2).

References

1. IMA Life. Groundbreaking Ceremony for IMA Life North America in Tonawanda, USA. Press Release. May 16, 2024.
2. IMA Life. IMA Life Wins INTERPHEX NY Awards for the Third Consecutive Year. Press Release. April 10, 2024.