Sterigenics today announced plans to build a new facility in the Chesterfield/Derbyshire, U.K.’s Markham Vale North area as the company looks to expand its footprint in Europe.

The 60,000 square-foot facility is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2018, with plans to install a Nordion JS10000 gamma irradiator with a research loop, the Cleveland-based company said. The addition will add gamma sterilization capabilities to the company’s U.K.-based operations, in addition to its existing ethylene oxide facility in Somercotes/Derbyshire.

“Sterigenics is committed to being the world’s leading provider of sterilization services and partnering with our customers to eliminate threats to human health. We continue to invest in our global network to meet our customers’ growing demand for gamma irradiation capacity as a critical step in their product development processes. Our new Markham Vale facility will strengthen our ability to serve our European customers, particularly in the MedTech and pharmaceutical fields, and help them innovate with success,” prez Philip Macnabb said in a prepared statement.

Sterigenics said the facility will provide routine gamma, GammaStat rapid processing and process validation and laboratory testing services through its Nelson Labs business.

“Our Markham Vale North facility is strategically located to serve the needs of our European customers. Its prime location at the heart of the UK’s motorway network will provide an optimum location for their supply chain logistics. And our facility’s high-tech capabilities will deliver the turnaround times necessary to distribute their products to market quickly,” UK operations director Adrian Wye said in a press release.

Last November, Sterigenics said that it has changed the name of its parent company to Sotera Health, with Nelson Labs, Nordion and Sterigenics as Sotera’s three operating companies.