Doe & Ingalls Expands North Carolina Operations
Tom Merrick, president and co-owner, said the new 23,000-square-foot building, located on three acres near Research Triangle Park, offers D&I customers new levels of on-site cleanliness, environmental control, and overall chemical storage capacity.
D&I's state-of-the-art warehouse offers improved quality safeguards
"The chemical storage area is designed to serve the stringent requirements of biotechnology, pharmaceutical and microelectronic component manufacturers. It's significantly different from a typical chemical warehouse. Our ceilings are dropped and flush to minimize dust accumulation, important surfaces have chemical-resistant epoxy coatings, and the entire 20,000-square-foot storage area is both heated and cooled to a narrow temperature range year-round to promote stability of on-hand materials. It's a unique facility," Merrick added.
Merrick and his business partner, John Elmo, say D&I's chemical storage and handling standards will now be in better alignment with their customers who utilize and depend upon clean manufacturing technology. As an integral part of that alignment, D&I will continue to maintain its internationally recognized ISO 9002 quality certification.
"As markets become more global, the ability to provide consistent quality standards across oceans becomes a major issue," says Elmo, D&I's vice president. "And even though our company doesn't do much on a global scale, many of our customers do. So the quality issue is extremely important to them."
Features and Services
The new facility boasts industry-standard features, including:
• A Class 100 clean room permitting off-site raw material sampling for contract customers
• State-of-the-art fire detection and suppression systems
• Explosion-proof ventilation fans, fixtures and thermostats
• Greater than a two-fold increase in pallet storage capacity
• Special compartmentalized secondary containment areas for all chemicals.
• Room on-site for a future addition of 17,000 square feet
D&I is now obtaining building and site permits for the additional expansion. VP Andrew Finn expects the additional space to be available by mid-2000.
According to Merrick up-to-date safety features, coupled with the expanded storage capacity, audited quality-assurance systems, and D&I's long-standing policy of reliable delivery, give customers an opportunity to free up more of their own space for inventories of finished goods.
"In effect, we can now take on more of the responsibility for raw-material management, and allow our customers to dedicate their facilities to activities where they can add the most value," Merrick said.
Although D&I of North Carolina traces it corporate roots to 78-year-old Doe & Ingalls, Inc. (Boston, MA), the North Carolina company is largely autonomous, with decisions based on the needs of the local market. Another branch of D&I is located in Tampa, FL. D&I began operations in Durham in 1986, and has since become a leading supplier of chemicals and related raw materials to advanced technology companies in the southeast.
For more information: Andrew Finn, Marketing Services Manager, Doe & Ingalls of North Carolina, 1301 Person St., Durham, NC 27703. Tel: 919-598-1986. Fax: 919-598-1707.
Angelo DePalma