Oakland lab products maker plans to hire 60-100 in Solano County expansion

An Oakland-based maker of liquid handling instruments and consumables for the life sciences industry has purchased a new Vacaville building with plans to expand manufacturing.

“The high cost and scarcity of real estate in the central Bay was one of the key considerations in our decision to expand operations here,” said Werner Maas, general manager for Mettler-Toledo Rainin LLC, in the announcement Tuesday.

The company plans to employ 60 in Vacaville when the facility opens late this summer, ramping up to 100 workers over time, according to Don Burrus, Vacaville director of economic development services.

Columbus, Ohio-based Mettler-Toledo had sales of $3.72 billion last year. It acquired Rainin Instrument in 2001. The subsidiary makes laboratory equipment such as automated pipettes.

The Business Journal on June 27 reported on the sale of the recently completed 93,240-square-foot industrial building at 4790 Midway Drive to the company, but Rainin didn’t respond to requests for comment.

The building, located in Interchange Business Park, is the second phase of the NorthBay Logistics Center project, which also includes an 842,000-square-foot e-commerce distribution center and a 617,000-square-foot Amazon fulfillment center. Crocker Owner II LLC, a joint venture of LDK Ventures and PCCP, sold the the 4790 Midway building on May 5, according to public records.

The property sale came with 2 acres of land. Real estate sources put the sale price at just over $20 million.

City officials are hailing the sale as another milestone in the 2-year-old plan to expand the growing hub of life sciences manufacturing.

“As we continue to attract more biomanufacturing and medical device companies, Rainin will help to strengthen the City’s biotech eco-system.” said Vacaville Mayor Ron Rowlett in the announcement. “We will work with Rainin through our Biotechnology Fast Track permitting program to get this expanded site up and operational as quickly as possible, and we will continue to connect them to the resources they need to be successful in Vacaville.”

The Rainin purchase is the third significant deal in the past two years toward the city’s goal. San Diego-based Polaris Pharmaceuticals early this year purchased 15 acres of land to expand beyond its existing facility in the city. And last year, Agenus Inc. of Lexington, Massachusetts, purchased 120 acres, with plans to build a 72-acre biomanufacturing campus.

Jeff Quackenbush covers wine, construction and real estate. Before coming to the Business Journal in 1999, he wrote for Bay City News Service in San Francisco. Reach him at jquackenbush@busjrnl.com or 707-521-4256.

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