HollisterStier to add second freeze-drying system in Spokane

HollisterStier to add second freeze-drying system in Spokane
Jun 2, 2005
by Tom Sowa
Spokesman Review, The (Spokane)
HollisterStier Laboratories LLC, one of Spokane's most successful manufacturing companies, announced Wednesday it will add a second $5 million freeze-drying system to its production facility.
The announcement was made during a visit to the North Spokane lab facility by Rep. Cathy McMorris, R-Spokane.
Company CEO and President Anthony Bonanzino said the second unit - called a lyophilizer - will be installed in mid-2006 but will take nearly a year of preparation before it goes into production.
The lyophilizer freeze-drying process produces high-grade chemicals and compounds used by drug makers and large pharmaceutical companies. HollisterStier's one freeze-dryer is now used by companies developing anti-cancer and cardiovascular drugs.
Privately held HollisterStier has two lines of business, producing allergy-treatment products and contract pharmaceutical work. That second area has shown the strongest growth, Bonanzino said. Among the companies that have used HollisterStier is Michigan- based BioPort, Inc., the major producer of anthrax vaccine in the United States. BioPort uses HollisterStier to produce sterile vials of the vaccine for the U.S. Defense Department.
In addition to adding a second lyophilizer, growth at HollisterStier has prompted the company to build a second warehouse at its campus at 3525 N. Regal.
The $2 million project is half-completed. When finished, it will add 10,000 square feet of temperature-controlled space for products, said Bonanzino.
During McMorris' visit, Bonanzino noted that in the past four years the company has grown from 240 workers to 360 employees.
"Based on the things that are happening here, it's very possible we could reach 400 people by this time next year," he said.