Lista solutions just the right medicine for Amgen facility expansion

Juncos, Puerto Rico / Biotech manufacturing facility

Problem
Founded in 1980, Amgen is the world's largest biotechnology company and a global leader in the research and manufacture of genetically-engineered drugs. Amgen conducts business in 19 countries and has research, manufacturing, distribution and sales facilities worldwide. When adding a new 800,000 square-foot research and manufacturing facility to its operations in Juncos, Puerto Rico, the right storage and workspace solutions were a critical component of the facility's finished quality and functionality.
Objective
Amgen needed quality storage and workspace solutions for each of the new buildings in the expanded Juncos facility, particularly the different maintenance areas in the complex.
Solution
Lista has been providing storage and workspace solutions to Amgen for more than a decade. Lista products are standard in the maintenance shops of Amgen's California and Colorado plants. "We had used other brand-name storage solutions, but had found the performance of Lista products to be far superior in terms of durability and overall functionality," said Mark Fields, senior manager of maintenances and the chief administrator of the Juncos site. "There was no doubt that Lista would be called upon again to be involved in this important new project." A variety of Lista products are being installed in the new buildings, with the biggest installation in the central utility plant, the largest building in the facility. Here, Amgen is using Lista's Storage Wall® Systems, mobile workbenches featuring riser shelves and overhead cabinets, and mobile storage cabinets. This array of space-saving products is installed in five different maintenance areas within the building, housing instruments and parts for utility operators, HVAC mechanics, process mechanics, instrument technicians and electricians.
Benefits
The benefits Lista's storage and workspace solutions bring to Amgen include their mobility, modular design, and security. Because technicians are required to travel to other buildings to perform various maintenance functions, the mobile cabinets are particularly useful. Each group of technicians is equipped with a mobile cabinet, which features computer hookup capabilities enabling technicians to bring laptops to the repair scene. Lista Storage Wall Systems (middle photo above to the right), with their ability to store large and small items in close proximity, were a perfect solution for housing everything from bulky calibration equipment to replacement parts. The array of workbenches at Amgen are used as personal workstations for the technicians. Expensive test equipment can be securely stored in overhead cabinets above the mobile workbenches, which feature a locking system to protect valuables. Fields notes, "All of the workbenches we ordered were specifically configured to meet our requirements." In fact, a major benefit of using Lista products is the ease of getting a custom fit. Says Fields: "Lista was able to customize their products for us, but without the typical delays or custom cost." Not only were many of the storage products for the new Juncos facility customized for Amgen, the modularity of Lista's storage solutions gives Amgen flexibility to alter configurations as storage needs change over time.