Becton, Dickinson and Co. plans to expand its ability to manufacture insulin syringes at the factory.

Chris Newmarker

BD recently announced a $100 million investment in new technology and manufacturing equipment at its Holdrege, NE, insulin syringes plant.

The goal is to expand capacity to make syringes at the factory. BD already makes more than 2 billion insulin syringes annually. That comes to more than 250,000 syringes per hour.

"About 40 percent of people with diabetes who inject insulin use syringes as part of their diabetes management regimen," Ken Miller, worldwide president of diabetes care for BD, said in a news release. "This investment will provide benefits to this diabetes population and underscores our commitment to supply high-quality, industry-leading insulin syringes to patients." 

BD started out in Holdrege 50 years ago in 1966, with a 12,000 square foot building with 66 associates. The plant is now 350,000 square feet, with more than 650 associates manufacturing 20 different BD products.

The new investment will increase production capacity, but it will not necessarily mean additional employees, a BD spokesperson told the Omaha World-Herald.

Overall, Franklin Lake, NJ-based BD is a major Nebraska employer, with 2500 workers in four manufacturing facilities--one each in Holdrege and Broken Bow and two in Columbus.

Chris Newmarker is senior editor of Qmed. Follow him on Twitter at @newmarker.

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