When the Pittcon award-winning lab equipment manufacturer Metrohm wanted to build a new laboratory facility, who did they turn to? The answer: Formaspace.
We’ve just returned from Pittcon, the annual gathering of the laboratory research tribe, which met this year in the center of growing hub of the pharma industry – Philadelphia. During the event, Formaspace introduced our new line of high-performance phenolic worksurfaces to the lab community. We also gave one-on-one demonstrations of our exclusive laboratory furniture design tool, 3DConfigure; a free, browser-based software tool that allows you to design and customize workbenches and tables using real-time, photorealistic graphics.
Pittcon made an important announced during the conference: they awarded a Pittcon Excellence Award to the laboratory equipment manufacturer Metrohm for their OMNIS Karl Fischer Titration system.
We’d like to congratulate Metrohm on this important recognition. Quick disclaimer: Metrohm is a valued Formaspace customer – in fact, we recently manufactured and installed laboratory furniture for Metrohm USA’s brand new 90,000 sq ft state-of-the-art facility outside of Tampa, Florida.
When the Pittcon award-winning lab equipment manufacturer Metrohm wanted to build a new laboratory facility, who did they turn to? The answer: Formaspace.
Meet Metrohm USA, winner of the Pittcon Excellence Award for their OMNIS Karl Fischer Titrator System
Let’s learn a little bit more about Metrohm USA. It’s the US arm of the venerable Swiss-based lab equipment maker Metrohm AG. Founded by Bertold Suhner in 1943, the company recently celebrated its 75th birthday. Today, Metrohm is a world leader in ion analysis and has worldwide reach, with more than 2,000 employees, and company subsidiaries and exclusive partners located in 80 countries.
OMNIS is one of Metrohm’s flagship products, a fully-integrated system for performing volumetric Karl Fischer titration. Not a chemist and need a simple explanation? No problem: this means that OMNIS can automatically calculate the volume of water in a given sample, even within here-to-for difficult to analyze plastic materials, making the system a real breakthrough in lab measurement technology.
In a first, Metrohm’s cutting-edge OMNIS Karl Fischer Titrator system can evaluate water content in solid plastic materials, without having to melt down the samples first.
Designing and Building a Brand New, Top of the Line Laboratory Facility for Metrohm USA
Metrohm USA had an urgent need for a new facility.
“When I first started with Metrohm, we had a ten by fifteen room with a lab bench, and that was our applications lab,” explains Frank Koch, Development Manager, Metrohm USA.
“Over the years, we expanded as we grew, sometimes quite rapidly, but we almost never could catch up. We were always in a leased building, we had to add on lab space, add on support space, add on training space. And now, for the first time, we have a building that is really something that we designed to meet our needs, and the needs of our customers, well into the future.”
How did Metrohm USA go about creating its new facility?
A coordinated advance planning process was paramount. The company selected its CFO, Evelio Bosque to serve as project manager – overseeing all aspects of the new building’s planning development and construction.
Several key project goals that were identified early on:
- Make it a great place for customers to visit and for employees to work
- Build-in flexibility so the facility can support future growth for years to come
- Involve employees as much as possible during the initial planning stages
- Ask the architect to incorporate employee suggestions from surveys, such as adding more natural light.*
(*Incorporating more natural light into lab facilities is one of Formaspace’s 6 Hot Lab Design Trends.)
Larry Tucker, Director, Norms and Standards, Metrohm USA, says, “I’m really happy to have been a part of the project. I feel like everyone in the company, all of the groups, had a chance to provide input into the work environment.” In Tucker’s view, the new facility “represents investment: investment in the community, investment in our customers — by providing a great new place to invite them in for training, discussions, and meetings. It’s also a great place for us to provide support in a central hub for our business in North America. It represents investment in the employees because it’s a great work environment to bring in new employees, and certainly, we have enough space where we can grow in the future.”
During Metrohm’s three-year planning process, they brought together a team of experienced professionals, including:
- Architect: HTG Architects
- Interior Design: Florida Business Interiors
- Contractor: iConstructors
- Office Furniture: Haworth
- Laboratory and Training Room Furniture: Formaspace
Once the plans were set in place, construction of the 90,000 sq ft facility went quickly. The time from the initial groundbreaking ceremony to initial employee move-in was less than 12 months, as this time-lapse video of construction demonstrates:
Careful advanced planning led to an efficient buildout of the new Metrohm USA facility, as shown in this time-lapse video. Construction of the new 90,000 sq ft state-of-the-art facility was completed in less than a year. Among the construction details is a “removable” back wall designed for future expansion.
Take a Tour of the New Metrohm USA Lab in Tampa, Florida
Let’s take a closer look at the inside of Metrohm USA’s new facility, including the new open office spaces, dedicated training rooms, and the flexible application laboratories.
The key features of Metrohm USA’s new building include:
- Office and administration facilities
- Training facilities for customers and employees
- Application development laboratories
- Technical and customer support areas
- Product warehouse (25,000 square foot)
Martin Kobler, Service Training Manager, Metrohm USA, is very happy with the results. “Cutting edge technology makes life interesting. It’s always challenging to find solutions to customer’s problems.” He adds, “the way the workspaces are laid out (in the new lab) makes it easy to collaborate; there are meeting rooms where we can have some privacy, if necessary, to meet or to have conference calls with our external employees — it’s important to support them.”
Metrohm USA Customer Training Lab Facility
Now let’s step into the customer training lab facility.
Here, Metrohm can welcome its customers to a clean, modern training room featuring Formaspace furniture. The Basix™ workbench tables on the left feature height-adjustable worksurfaces with built-in ESD protection to protect sensitive electronic lab equipment from accidental static shock. Along the right wall is another group of Basix workbenches equipped with white laboratory snorkels, which provide safe, convenient, localized air extraction.
These custom Formaspace cabinets provide easy yet secure storage for the precision instruments used to train Metrohm representatives and customers. The cabinets are finished with a highly durable custom gray powder coating, while gray laminate was used to fabricate the lower storage elements. The pullout shelves use heavy-duty lockout drawer glides for easy yet secure movement.
Metrohm USA Application Laboratory Facility
Next, let’s take a look at Metrohm USA’s new application laboratory facility.
Application Laboratory Casework
One entire wall is lined with clean, modern casework, built here at our Formaspace factory headquarters in Austin, Texas and installed onsite in Florida. There is ample storage above and below the durable gray epoxy resin worksurface, which features a built-in black epoxy resin sink and gray backsplash. A convenient built-in epoxy pegboard drying rack with a stainless steel drip tray makes washing lab glassware a snap. Safety features include a built-in eye wash station.
Application Laboratory Workbenches
The center of the application lab is equipped with castor-mounted modular workbenches for maximum flexibility. These Formaspace Basix workbenches feature gray epoxy resin worksurfaces equipped with steel storage cabinets and drawers mounted underneath. Convenience accessories built into the Formaspace lab furniture include flex monitor mounts, manual crank hydraulics (to raise and lower the height of the worksurfaces), integrated power strips, CPU supports, wire basket cable management systems, and custom cut outs (for cables, etc.) fitted with black HDPE inserts.
Application Laboratory Balance Table
Here is an example of a Formaspace furniture solution designed for specialized lab equipment. This black epoxy balance table provides sturdy, vibration-free support for sensitive laboratory scales. Our standard line of balance tables are 35” x 24” x 31″ (width, depth, and height, respectively), but we can design and manufacture custom furniture to meet your exact needs.
Application Laboratory Bypass Bench Top Fume Hood
Laboratory safety is paramount. Here is a close-up photo of the 72″ Single Bypass Fume Hood that we installed in the Metrohm USA facility. It features a built-in alarm system. Read our guide on how to avoid making operational mistakes in wet lab environments.
Application Laboratory Closed and Open Storage Cabinets
Providing adequate dedicated storage is an important consideration for efficient laboratory operations. These lockable closed storage units are built with heavy-duty steel frames that are powder-coated a custom gray color to match the gray laminate doors and shelves.
Formaspace is Your Laboratory Partner
We hope you have enjoyed this tour of Metrohm USA’s new facility in Florida.
If you can imagine it, we can build it.
Formaspace designs and manufactures unique, made-in-America furniture solutions for laboratories – from ideation to installation.
Whether you are building a new laboratory or renovating an existing facility, we can help.
As a GSA Schedule Supplier, Formaspace helps laboratory clients build or upgrade laboratories across nearly every industry, from government, military, and commercial entities, including well-known companies, such as Roche, Schlumberger, and Antech Diagnostics, to educational and research facilities. (We count more than 350 colleges and universities among our customers, including nearly all the Ivy League institutions.)
We’re ready to help you next.
Whether you are designing a new facility or renovating an existing laboratory, our Formaspace Design Consultants have years of experience helping lab managers and architects create state-of-the-art laboratory facilities.
Take advantage of our expertise. Contact your Formaspace Design Consultant today.
