Missouri S&T – News and Events – S&T opens Missouri Protoplex for advanced manufacturing

Nearly 500 people celebrated the opening of the Missouri Protoplex on April 15 at the new facility, located at 1700 White Columns Drive in Rolla. The 117,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing facility is the first building in Missouri S&T’s Manufacturing Technology and Innovation Campus.

Leaders celebrate after cutting the ribbon to mark the opening of the Missouri Protoplex on April 15. Photo by Michael Pierce/ Missouri S&T

“On behalf of the Board of Curators, I’m excited today to join in the dedication of the Missouri Protoplex, one of the most comprehensive university-based manufacturing facilities in the nation,” said Todd Graves, chair of the University of Missouri Board of Curators. “With the Protoplex, Missouri S&T is taking the lead to ensure our state’s manufacturing innovators and industry partners have access to the latest research technology and equipment, along with enhanced space to design and test their new products and processes.”

Students and engineers gave demonstrations and answered questions during the April 15 Protoplex open house. Photo by Michael Pierce/Missouri S&T

The facility includes 40,000 square feet of high-bay manufacturing space and more than 60 industrial-scale pieces of equipment and manufacturing systems. S&T has already secured more than $22 million to support collaborations with its industry and research partners.

“Our previous governor, Mike Parson, our current governor, Mike Kehoe, and elected leaders have made it a strategic point to invest in higher education, infrastructure and workforce development, and this is another testament to that investment that’s happening here,” said Dr. Mun Choi, president of the University of Missouri.

Gov. Kehoe was unable to attend but shared his congratulations in a video message played during the ceremony.

A 3D scanning system projects patterned blue light onto a metal part to capture precise measurements. Photo by Michael Pierce/Missouri S&T

“When we broke ground for the Missouri Protoplex three years ago, I spoke about the need for such a facility to support our engineering education and technological workforce needs,” said Dr. Mo Dehghani, chancellor of Missouri S&T. “Now, more than ever, this facility is needed to strengthen U.S. manufacturing, drive economic development and build the talent pipeline for tomorrow’s workforce. The Missouri Protoplex will support a broad range of manufacturers, from established companies to startups to entrepreneurs. As the United States aspires to onshore manufacturing, technological universities like Missouri S&T can help.”

Dr. Richard Billo, director of the Protoplex and Distinguished Professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, spoke about the current state of U.S. manufacturing.

Guests check out the new Protoplex facility on April 15. Photo by Michael Pierce/Missouri S&T

“There are few domains in the United States where the impact of technology has been more acutely felt than manufacturing,” Billo said. “The Missouri Protoplex is where the innovations in manufacturing supported by the research we conduct and the technical assistance we provide will be put in the hands of manufacturers. Our goal is to support them in their endeavors and to adopt the advanced manufacturing methods that will help them become and remain as competitive as possible in an increasingly complex marketplace. The work undertaken at the Protoplex will help keep our manufacturers where they belong — at the forefront of American innovation.”

A reception and open house followed the remarks and ribbon-cutting ceremony. Guests toured the Protoplex and visited with students and engineers on hand to demonstrate equipment, discuss their research and answer questions.

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Hadrian opens ‘Factory of the Future’ in Alabama

Hadrian has opened a new advanced manufacturing facility in Cherokee, Alabama to support U.S. Navy Columbia- and Virginia-class submarine programs. The site, known as Factory 4, is designed to mass-produce critical components and help accelerate submarine construction.

The 2.2 million square foot facility will operate as a highly automated “factory of the future,” producing parts, assemblies and finished products identified as key drivers of submarine production timelines. Increased output is expected to reduce bottlenecks and enable faster delivery of submarines.

The project is funded through a public-private partnership combining $900 million in U.S. Navy investment with more than $1.5 billion in private capital. The total investment of over $2.4 billion reflects efforts to strengthen the maritime industrial base and expand production capacity.

The facility is also expected to create up to 1,000 high-paying jobs, supporting regional economic growth while addressing workforce shortages in the defence sector. Hadrian said its automated manufacturing platform will enable faster workforce training and improve production efficiency.

The opening comes as the Navy seeks to address long-standing capacity constraints in submarine construction. By shifting component manufacturing to dedicated facilities, shipyards can focus more resources on assembling submarine modules.

“Both chambers of Congress delivered the generational investment required to rebuild our shipbuilding capacity, bring those jobs back to Alabama and put American skilled laborers back at the center of American strength,” said Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan. “I look forward to building on this progress together in the months ahead, because we are just getting started. This factory is the first of three facilities designed to address the most critical bottlenecks in the maritime industrial base.”

Officials described the approach as part of a broader strategy to increase production rates through distributed manufacturing. “We call this distributed shipbuilding, and it’s a key tenet of our plan to achieve required shipbuilding production rates,” said Jason Potter, performing the duties of Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition.

“These factories of the future might be several states away from the yards where the ships are ultimately built, but by taking on this work they reduce bottlenecks, having a profound effect on the speed of delivery,” he added.

Hadrian said the facility will reach full production capacity within 18 to 24 months, following qualification processes and initial production phases. By the third year, the site is expected to sustain operations through regular delivery of submarine components.

Company leadership said the project reflects a coordinated effort between government and industry to expand manufacturing capacity. “The Administration has set the strategy, Congress has cleared a path, the Navy has set the requirement, and Secretary Phelan has been unambiguous that private-sector partnership is foundational, not optional, to deter threats to national security. Industry has to answer that call with real execution, and the window to do it is now. We are proud to be part of the coalition building that capacity, and this factory is Hadrian’s commitment to meeting this moment,” said Chris Power, founder and CEO of Hadrian.

Lawmakers attending the opening highlighted the strategic and economic impact of the investment. “This investment marks a major step forward in strengthening our nation’s defense industrial base while bringing high-quality jobs and economic growth to Northwest Alabama,” said Representative Robert Aderholt.

Officials said the facility is part of a wider effort to modernise U.S. manufacturing and strengthen long-term defence readiness. The project is expected to play a key role in increasing submarine production capacity and supporting national security objectives.

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US manufacturing access opens new Alpha-GPC format options as cognitive health market matures

According to market insights firms SPINS, U.S. cognitive health vitamin, mineral and supplement sales reached approximately $499 million over the latest 52-week period, with unit sales exceeding 19.5 million. While the category remains one of the industry’s largest condition-specific segments, dollar sales declined slightly year over year, underscoring the difficulty of sustaining growth in a mature market.

Within that landscape, CHEMI Nutra says expanded U.S. manufacturing access to its choline-rich Alpha-GPC ingredients is enabling shorter formulation timelines while preserving Italian pharma-level purity and stability. CHEMI Nutra, incorporated in 2001, manufacturers Alphasize at CHEMI S.p.A.’s pharmaceutical-grade facilities in Milan and Patrica, Italy.

Alpha-GPC (Alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine) is used across a wide range of cognitive health products, particularly in blended formulations positioned for focus, memory and mental performance. Its use, however, has largely remained concentrated in powders and capsules.

Accessing the AlphaSizeLiquid-Science Platform

Mike Petteruti, president & general manager of CHEMI Nutra highlighted that delivery format innovation continues to shape future development strategies for choline ingredients.

“Future development will focus on delivery systems that improve bioavailability, format flexibility and consumer compliance, including liquids, softgels and hybrid systems,” he told NutraIngredients. “The biggest opportunity lies in integrating choline solutions into multi-benefit formulations without compromising stability or sensory experience.”

Efforts to expand Alpha-GPC into liquid and softgel formats have historically faced stability challenges, and the “main barriers were limited access to suitable liquid Alpha-GPC and a lack of confidence and know-how around softgel applications,” according to Petteruti.

“Alpha-GPC’s sensitivity to moisture and interaction with lipid systems made long-term stability difficult without system-level expertise,” he noted.

Those issues have limited how quickly brands could pursue alternative delivery formats, but Petteruti said those challenges can now be addressed via CHEMI Nutra’s AlphaSize Liquid-Science Platform.

Introduced in 2025, this platform allows for the use of “Liquid 85L” Alpha-GPC in applications such as shots, ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages, gummies, drops and softgels, while maintaining the stability and efficacy of the ingredient.

Moving forward, Petteruti added, regulatory clarity and scientific substantiation will continue to influence how quickly new formats reach the market.

Added value of U.S. manufacturing and regulatory clarity

As competition heats up, regulatory positioning is also playing a more substantial role in ingredient selection. Alphasize is the only New Dietary Ingredient (NDI)-cleared Alpha-GPC in the U.S. market.

“Expanded U.S. manufacturing access to an NDI-supported Alpha-GPC increases regulatory confidence and commercial clarity for brands,” Petteruti said. “NDI support provides a well-documented safety and quality foundation, while domestic production improves traceability, continuity and alignment with FDA expectations.”

He added that those factors shorten supply chains and allow brands to plan innovation cycles with greater certainty in cognitive health and brain-mood formulations.

US-based manufacturing is also becoming more closely tied to transparency and documentation expectations.

“The AlphaSize Liquid-Science platform combines U.S.-based manufacturing with the same transparency and quality standards applied across CHEMI Nutra’s global operations,” Petteruti said. “Domestic production enables clearer documentation, tighter quality oversight and closer collaboration around formulation, stability and delivery formats.”

On-shoring can also make technical or regulatory decision-making processes less complex, as it “provides more direct access to this know-how and more consistent answers around regulatory confidence and performance expectations,” he added.

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