Siemens Healthineers invests nearly $44M to boost PET/CT production
Siemens Healthineers has completed a $43.6 million construction project at its PET Detector Center in Rockford, Tennessee.
The finalized project was designed to increase production capacity and support growing demand for PET/CT technology, including new product lines planned for the United States and international markets. It added approximately 40,000 square feet to the 97,000-square-foot campus and renovated another 7,500 of existing space. The Rockford campus is the company's sole worldwide manufacturing site for the PET detectors used in its products.
Detectors are a critical component of PET/CT, and demand for the technology has expanded alongside the clinical use of molecular imaging. In oncology, PET/CT is increasingly incorporated into cancer staging, treatment planning and response assessment, while radiopharmaceutical-based theranostics are creating additional demand for molecular imaging infrastructure. PET also plays an important role in neurologic applications, including evaluation of Alzheimer's disease, as well as cardiovascular imaging.
More than 200 people currently work at the Rockford campus, located in Blount County, which is part of the greater Knoxville metropolitan area in eastern Tennessee. Siemens Healthineers expects the expansion to add over 90 manufacturing, research, development, and management positions in greater Rockford over the next five years.
The project received a $930,000 grant from the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. These "FastTrack" funds are aimed at helping to offset expenses associated with property acquisition, new construction and building retrofits.
“This building project significantly increases production capacity and customer access to our PET/CT scanners to meet the rapidly growing worldwide clinical demand for PET/CT imaging,” James Williams, PhD, head of Siemens Healthineers Molecular Imaging, said in an announcement on the project. “We are grateful to the state of Tennessee for the FastTrack Economic Development Grant that has supported this project, which will bring new jobs to the greater Rockford area.”
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In addition to her background in journalism, Hannah also has patient-facing experience in clinical settings, having spent more than 12 years working as a registered rad tech. She began covering the medical imaging industry for Innovate Healthcare in 2021.