Efficiency, Automation, and Eco-Friendliness... Samba 2nd Campus Equipped with the Three Essentials

Samsung Biologics 2nd Bio Campus
Construction of Plant 5 Begins in April
Four Plants on 110,000 Pyeong Site

Buildings Built Like Cookie-Cutting
Plant 5 Construction Time Reduced by About One Year
Automated Logistics and Operation Systems Established
Carbon Reduction Technologies Applied

Incheon Songdo Samsung Biologics Plant 5 construction site. The company aims to complete it by April 2025.
[Photo by Samsung Biologics]

On the morning of the 17th, the site of Samsung Biologics' 2nd Bio Campus in Songdo, Incheon was visited. Construction was in full swing for the 5th plant, production support building, and utility building. Several cranes erected at the 5th plant site were continuously transporting materials, and construction workers hurried to the site after passing security checks. The male and female restrooms and rest facilities set up throughout the site also caught attention. Samsung Biologics announced the expansion plan for the 5th plant last March and began construction in April, marking the official establishment of the 2nd campus.

The 2nd Bio Campus is being built on a 357,000㎡ (approximately 110,000 pyeong) site in District 11 of Songdo International City, which was acquired last July. The production capacity of the four plants (5th to 8th plants) to be built on the 2nd campus will total 720,000 liters, and combined with the existing 1st campus's production capacity of 604,000 liters, Samsung Biologics' total production capacity is expected to reach 1,324,000 liters. The 2nd campus will see the sequential construction of the 5th plant currently under construction, followed by the 6th, 7th, and 8th plants. Each of the four plants will have a production capacity of 180,000 liters.

The 5th plant was originally scheduled for completion in September 2025, but the completion schedule was moved up by about five months due to increased contract volumes. No Gyun, Head of Samsung Biologics EPCV Center (Vice President), explained, "After analyzing the overall supply and demand situation and forecasted market conditions, we judged that it was necessary to secure supply capacity as soon as possible." The 5th plant is expected to begin operations in April 2025, with a construction progress rate of about 32% as of this month. The expected employment creation effect from the 5th plant expansion is approximately 5,000 jobs.

A view of the construction site of Samsung Biologics Plant 5 in Songdo, Incheon.
Photo by Myunghwan Lee

The characteristics of the 2nd campus can be summarized as efficiency, automation, and eco-friendliness. The core of efficiency is the 'cookie-cutter' method. Cookie-cutter refers to constructing buildings with the same design, structure, and function repeatedly, just like stamping out identical dough with a cookie cutter. This method was learned while building the four plants of the 1st campus. Initially, the construction of the 5th plant will take 24 months, which is 11 months shorter than the 35 months it took to build the similarly sized 3rd plant. The cookie-cutter method will also be applied to the 6th, 7th, and 8th plants. Additionally, 'modular construction,' where building components are manufactured in a factory and then assembled on-site, will be actively utilized.

Automation systems such as automated warehouses and automated logistics transfer systems will be introduced in the 2nd campus, including the 5th plant. Previously, samples and pharmaceuticals were manually transported, but a Spine Bridge will be established at the center of the 2nd campus to automatically transfer samples and other items to different buildings. The injection of chemicals like pharmaceuticals will also be automated through an unmanned charging system.

For eco-friendliness, numerous carbon reduction technologies have been applied. The heat source for air conditioning will be replaced with hot water heat utilizing waste heat remaining after use at a nearby power plant. At the same time, eco-friendly high-efficiency boilers and solar power generation systems will also be introduced. The total expected reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is 11,070 tCO₂e (tons of carbon dioxide equivalent).

No Gyun, Vice President and Head of EPCV Center at Samsung Biologics, is explaining the construction status of the 5th plant and the 2nd bio campus at the Incheon Songdo office on the morning of the 17th.
[Photo by Samsung Biologics]

Although the 2nd campus is being built mainly for antibody drugs, there is potential for additional investment in new modalities with high growth potential. No, the center head, explained, "We have idle land in Songdo, and if related technologies and markets are secured, we have plans to review and invest in other modalities such as messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) or antibody-drug conjugates (ADC)." He also added that since toxins are used in the production process of ADCs, production facilities for ADCs will be located separately from the antibody drug-focused 2nd campus.

Regarding concerns about oversupply due to aggressive investment in the 2nd campus, No said, "We are constantly reviewing and forecasting the supply-demand balance," adding, "Currently, the demand for antibody drugs is growing significantly more than other industries, so we believe we are following an appropriate pace. The market will form according to the speed of decision-making."

Samsung Biologics has revised its sales guidance for this year to 3.6016 trillion KRW, an increase of more than 20% compared to last year. This is because sales from the fully operational 4th plant are rapidly increasing. Regarding this, John Rim, CEO of Samsung Biologics, said, "The 4th plant began partial operations in October last year and started full operations in June this year," expressing confidence by stating, "Sales growth was announced to be over 20% earlier this month, showing strong growth." Samsung Biologics' order volume up to October this year has already surpassed the total order volume of last year.

John Lim, CEO of Samsung Biologics, is giving a greeting at the '5th Plant Project Briefing' held on the 17th at the Incheon Songdo headquarters.
[Photo by Samsung Biologics]

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.