American engineer Fluor has been awarded a design-and-build contract by Novo Nordisk for a $2bn factory to make insulin for diabetics.
Fluor has been providing basic design services since Novo Nordisk announced plans for the facility in August 2015 and now it will be executing the full scope of works in Clayton, North Carolina in a contract worth $1.2bn.
Gary Lohr, project manager for the expansion, said the plant would have three main buildings, each handling a different stage of the manufacturing process: fermentation, recovery and purification. The new plant will produce an insulin pill that is currently in trials.
The project, which is Fluor’s largest to date, is a 77,000 square metre facility that will generate 2,500 craft employees and subcontractor jobs at peak construction, with about 700 jobs at the facility when it is completed.
Fluor participated in a groundbreaking event in spring 2016, and construction expected to be completed in mid-2019.
