Investment follows demand for the company's AseptiSafe and PharmaSafe product ranges, which transfer APIs in small- and large-scale pharmaceutical manufacturing environments.

Powder containment and aseptic transfer valve specialist ChargePoint Technology is expanding its US presence, following a multi-million-pound investment from LDC.

The Liverpool, UK headquartered company struck a deal with the private equity firm in January 2017 to capitalise on the strong demand for its solutions in North America, Europe and Asia. This includes the AseptiSafe and PharmaSafe product ranges, which are used to ensure the safe transfer of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in small- and large-scale pharmaceutical manufacturing environments.

This demand has fuelled the need for the expansion of the firm’s support team within North America. A new office, based in San Francisco, brings the total number of offices globally to four with other locations including Hong Kong, S.A.R., China and New Jersey.

Chris Rombach, previously of ILC Dover, Pacific Ozone and Stedim Biotech (now part of Sartorius group) joins the team at the San Francisco office as President of ChargePoint Inc. He will be responsible for driving the growth of the entire ChargePoint offering across the US, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico. This will include the establishment of local sales operations and the creation of new roles in the US, as well as new reseller channels. The company has plans to double its global workforce by 2020.

Chris Eccles, CEO of ChargePoint commented: "Growing our North American presence is a significant milestone for us and reflects our strategic vision to expand the company in key markets. Our product range and AfterCare support mean we are ideally placed to meet the increasing demand for safe containment and sterile transfer solutions. The use of split-valve technology is growing in popularity, and can offer an alternative to more cumbersome and costly containment techniques.

"Continuing our investment in our business and enhancing the service we can provide our customers at a local level has been our main priority in 2017 so far, and bringing on board new team members with the strategic vision to grow the company globally is key to our goals. We are very pleased to have Chris on board as part of our North America team and have no doubt his industry expertise is a perfect fit for the ChargePoint business."

Chris’ previous experience spans across several manufacturing and engineering companies within the biopharmaceutical and bioprocessing markets, providing him with extensive technical expertise across bio-processing and containment systems, as well as experience in business development and strategic growth planning.

Commenting on his new position within ChargePoint, Chris Rombach said: "To be joining ChargePoint at a time when it is experiencing significant growth and investment is very exciting. Having the opportunity to support the sale of such revolutionary products, that are receiving demand across the globe, is something I’m looking forward to being part of."