Stem Cell Research Gets Boost in Enfield

Eppendorf Manufacturing Co., a German company with local operations on Freshwater Boulevard, has received state approval "to conduct infectious disease related research," according to a Hartford Business Journal report.

The approval, Hartford Business reports, will allow the biomedical equipment maker "to ramp up its stem cell bioprocessing research," including the production of induced pluripotent stem cells.

The announcement isn't the only big news for the company in recent years.

The company is just a couple of years removed from a significant expansion — a $20 million, 130,000-square-foot expansion, which began in the fall of 2010.

The company's growth was cited by MassLive.com as a sign of local economic uptick, reporting Enfield to have had the largest increase in jobs percentage in Connecticut the month after Eppendorf's expansion announcement.

Eppendorf, a German company founded in 1945, employes over 2,700 employees worldwide, according to the company's website. The company has operations in over 20 countries, including two in infield: Eppendorf Manufacturing and New Brunswick Scientific Co., Inc.