A global engineering and construction company said Wednesday it bought Yonkers Industries, a Cary company that specializes in the construction and management of pharmaceutical and biotech facilities.
Yonkers employs about 225 people in North Carolina, California and Puerto Rico. Founded in 1983, Yonkers has built facilities in Durham, Zebulon, Research Triangle Park and in foreign countries. Yonkers' clients locally include GlaxoSmithKline, Biogen Idec and Merck.
The acquiring company, Foster Wheeler, did not disclose the terms of the deal.
“The acquisition of Yonkers Industries gives our pharmaceutical business a construction management capability in North America,” said Kent Masters, Chief Executive Officer of Foster Wheeler. “Yonkers has a global reputation for excellence in contract execution.”
Foster Wheeler, was formed in 1927 from a merger of two companies with roots going back to the 1800s. The company employs about 12,000 worldwide and was originally headquartered in New York City but later moved its corporate office to Switzerland.
John Murawski has been a full-time newspaper reporter since 1991, with stints at Legal Times and The Chronicle of Philanthropy (both in Washington, DC), The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Palm Beach Post (in South Florida) before arriving at the N&O in December 2004. At the N&O he covers energy (nuclear, coal, renewable, efficiency), hydralic fracturing (or "fracking"), public utilities (both electric and natural gas) and health care. His beat includes Progress Energy, PSNC Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas, PowerSecure International, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Biogen Idec and others. You can reach him at 919-829-8932 or