Lacamas Laboratories has acquired the Albany, Oregon, fine-chemicals facility previously owned by W. R. Grace Inc. Dr. Allen Erickson, CEO and President, Lacamas Laboratories and owner of Lacamas Laboratories, provided the details of the acquisition. The company closed the deal for the facility on December 31, 2024.   

The acquisition of this site, formerly scheduled to close by W. R. Grace, was owned and operated by Grace from 2010 through 2024 and prior to 2010, was the headquarters of Synthetech, a small, publicly held company. The site is 80 miles south of Portland, Oregon.  

Dr. Allen Erickson, CEO and owner of Lacamas Laboratories, commented, “This acquisition increases Lacamas’ capacity to manufacture chemical products for our chemical and pharmaceutical customers. Additionally, we are excited to use the Albany site to fulfill our new Department of Defense contract to build a modular, flexible production plant for critical defense chemicals.”  

In December 2023, Lacamas Laboratories was awarded an $86-million-dollar contract to develop processes and build a plant to manufacture seven chemical precursors required for US national defense. The technologies required to manufacture these chemicals are also available for non-defense customers. The Albany acquisition will aid in satisfying the Department of Defense (DOD) contract by providing current facilities, room for additional capital equipment and a ready staff.  

The new Albany facility is currently staffed with 30 employees for start-up bringing Lacamas’s headcount to over 80. Significant headcount expansion over the next four years is expected as both the DOD contract progresses, as well as staffing for further expansion into key raw material and intermediates for the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical markets. The acquisition will add more than 80,000 L of flexible manufacturing capacity, including R&D, cGMP kilo lab, small pilot, large pilot, and commercial production capabilities. The facility includes a broad range of glass, stainless, and Hastelloy reactors. 

Lacamas Laboratories is a fine chemical company headquartered in Portland, Oregon, founded in 1985 by its current CEO, Dr. Allen Erickson.