HPNE to hire 150+ to support Rhode Island facility

High Purity New England (HPNE) will hire more than 150 employees as part of a larger strategic plan for the firm.

HPNE, a supplier of equipment and solutions for the biopharmaceutical sector, will begin to immediately hire 150+ employees in what the company is dubbing as a “substantial hiring push” as it prepares to open its facility in early December.

The firm has invested more than $10 million at its plant in Smithfield, Rhode Island – just 50 minutes south of Boston, US. It brings HPNE’s total square footage to more than 100,000 square feet and more than triples their manufacturing output.

Third Facility opening Early December 2021. Image c/o HPNE

“The single-use industry is growing at a rate of 28% and High Purity New England is growing even faster at a rate of more than 100%,” a spokesperson for HPNE told BioProcess Insider.

“HPNE needs to hire such a large volume of people to staff and support not only this facility but to help shape the future growth of the company. This comes on the heels of us launching our new FlowMaxx Pro pump line and ahead of numerous new products which are in development and will be launched in 2022.”

According to the firm, its need for more employees increases daily as the demand for its products grows. HPNE produces single-use assemblies for companies producing drugs, vaccines, and other therapeutics, and distributes for 18 brands across North America.

HPNE also supports various firms working on vaccines and therapeutics in the fight against COVID-19. In March it entered an agreement with Univercells Technologies’ to market and sell its products in the US.

Double employees

According to the firm, it has already grown from an organization consisting of 60 members of staff in 2019 to 200 employees in 2020. The latest hiring campaign is part of HPNE’s aim of doubling the number of employees in 2022.

Securing qualified manufacturing staff has been a concern for years, and while some training facilities and incentives have sprung up, the general consensus among professionals is that the amount of talent coming through is not reflective of the huge investment in capacity being seen across the industry, with COVID-19 driving demand for further expansions.

HPNE will recruit via LinkedIn, social media platforms, media outreach, and various publications.

“In the past, during the height of the pandemic, we went to great lengths to onboard employees such as advertising on billboards, but since bringing on new hiring managers and HR staff, we found ways to speed up the recruiting process,” the spokesperson said.