An eye for detail

The list of customers reads like a Who’s Who of the biotech industry. From A for Abbott to Z for Zymogenetics, the Cotter Brothers partner with all of the big names. The family-owned company, located outside of Boston, was one of the very first manufacturers of biopharmaceutical systems and remains a global leader. “Our customers trust us to handle even the most difficult tasks,” says President Randy Cotter Jr. 

The company’s reputation has been built over the years on a foundation of in-depth understanding of bioprocesses and uncompromising quality of the systems made in Danvers, Massachusetts. Cotter Brothers designs, manufactures and installs process skid modules for all stages of biopharmaceutical production.  

The ASME-BPE guidelines developed by the committee are considered the international standard for building biopharmaceutical manufacturing systems. Many sections of the guidelines carry the handwriting of company founder Randy Cotter Sr. He gained his experience in stainless steel in both the semiconductor and nuclear industries, before he recognized an opportunity to become involved in the nascent biotech industry nearly four decades ago. In delivering his first module in 1981, in essence he was involved from the very start.  

Thoroughly analyzing, understanding and acquiring a command of a subject, Randy Cotter Sr. is an engineer through and through. In the early 80s, there was no blueprint for building production modules for bioprocesses. Even where the requirements were obvious, engineers lacked the experience to implement them. “It was a painstaking learning curve,” recalls the company founder. 

Randy Cotter Sr. tackled many of these challenges systematically. What is the optimal flow rate for liquids? What is the ideal slope for the pipes? What should a weld profile really look like? Randy Cotter Sr. worked tirelessly, in effect performing basic research to achieve technology advances. It was only a few years ago that he obtained funding and worked with industry leaders to understand dead legs in biopharmaceutical piping systems, which can lead to hygiene problems. 

The know-how developed by the family-owned company over the years is unique in the industry. “We scored points with our measurement technology expertise,” reports Alan Senecal, who spent years building up the customer relationship with Cotter Brothers for industrial supplier F.W. Webb, one of the select representatives on which Endress+Hauser’s US sales force is based. “We made ourselves constantly available with consulting and support services. We always delivered the right device for the respective application. And we never left Cotter Brothers high and dry when problems arose.” 

Passion for quality 

If the customer has no specific instrumentation requirements, Cotter Brothers recommends products from Endress+Hauser. The company integrates flow, pressure, level and temperature measurement devices into its skids, as well as liquid analysis technology. “We hear time and again that Endress+Hauser has a technological edge,” explains Mark Braatz, who currently manages the relationship with Cotter Brothers for F. W. Webb. “Endress+Hauser’s attention to detail,” as reflected in the introduction of 1.4435-grade stainless steel instruments for life sciences applications for instance, “repeatedly serves as a persuasive selling point.” 

When Endress+Hauser representatives talk about Heartbeat Technology, for self-monitoring of sensors, and Raman analyzers for process control applications, Randy Cotter Sr. takes interest. “Technology transfer is important in our industry,” he says. “We have to be in a position to tell our customers and employees about new innovations, and we have to convey our knowledge to the next generation of engineers,” adds the company founder with confidence. 

In close contact 

“One advantage for Endress+Hauser is that we can offer global support,” says Industry Manager Ravi Shankar. Cotter Brothers generates one-third of its revenues with global customers, an area of the business that Randy Cotter Jr. wants to develop further. He knows he can rely on an experienced workforce to carry out his plans – not to mention loyal customers. “The biotech industry is not very forgiving,” says Randy Cotter Jr. “The fact that our customers return to us time and again, that means something in this business!” 

Cotter Brothers Corporation, headquartered in Danvers, Massachusetts, near Boston, is a global leader in custom-fabricated process skid systems for biotech manufacturing. The company was originally founded in 1979 by Randy Cotter Sr. and sold to global conglomerate ITT in 2001. Unhappy with the new course, the founder’s three sons – Randy Jr., Tim and David – left the successor company and set up shop again on their own in 2003, bringing a large part of their former staff with them. Today, Cotter Brothers employs 60 people.