Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Waltham, Mass., established the China Innovation Center in Shanghai, significantly expanding its research, development and training Thermo Fisher China innovation centercapabilities to support high-growth markets in the Asia-Pacific region.

Thermo Fisher invested $9.5 million in the new China Innovation Center to support its rapidly growing R&D organization, which is expected to add 200-300 engineers during the next 2-3 years. The new facility will include a Technology Training Center to instruct up to 2,500 customers per year in the use of its industry-leading chromatography and mass spectrometry systems, among other technologies.

“China is one of our fastest-growing markets and continues to be a key contributor to our success,” says Marc Casper, president and CEO. “The China Innovation Center builds on our well-established local presence, and is an important next step as we align our product development efforts with investments in our manufacturing infrastructure.”

Thermo Fisher built the $20 million Suzhou plant to address increased demand for laboratory equipment and consumables from life sciences customers in the region. The China Innovation Center includes more than 30,000 square feet of biology laboratories, design-verification-test and application laboratories. An additional 10,000 square feet is reserved for training.