Hasan Yamani – Neogen

As senior director of global capital projects, engineering, and facilities at Neogen, Hasan Yamani stepped into his role at a pivotal moment, placing him at the forefront of the largest project in the company’s history. Just days into his tenure, Yamani was tasked with leading a massive new capital initiative that would define both his time at the company and the future of Neogen’s food safety operations. With a background shaped by engineering roles at companies like Pfizer, AMGEN, and TEVA, Yamani brought deep technical expertise to Neogen and a strategic mindset tailored for large-scale, global growth.

Neogen Corporation is a leader in providing comprehensive solutions for food processing, animal protein, agriculture, and life sciences. Their portfolio supports the global food supply chain, helping customers increase production efficiency while maintaining safety and compliance. With a recent acquisition of 3M’s food safety division, Neogen has deepened its commitment to innovation and operational excellence—an evolution now physically manifesting in the landmark Building 1 project, under Yamani’s direction.

Steel & concrete

Shortly after joining Neogen in January 2022, Yamani was called upon to lead the largest capital project in the company’s nearly four-decade history. Building 1—a three-story, state-of-the-art facility in Lansing, Michigan—is more than just a structure. It represents a strategic consolidation of Neogen’s food safety operations and a physical symbol of its expanding footprint in the global biosciences market.

“The groundwork started in late 2021, and I was asked to come in and take the reins early the next year,” Yamani says. “Since then, every phase—predesign, design, construction, permitting, inspections—has come through my department.”

The scale of the project is staggering. Designed to house key components of the newly integrated 3M product line on its first floor, the building will also bring together Neogen’s existing Lansing-based food safety operations on its second and third floors. This centralization is critical for improving internal efficiencies, reducing operational redundancies, and supporting long-term growth.

“Our goal is to move from three separate locations into one,” he explains. “This streamlining will allow our teams to collaborate more effectively, reducing costs and improving time-to-market for our products.”

From concept to completion

His end-to-end involvement in every aspect of a project’s lifecycle sets Yamani’s leadership apart.

“I’m not just a director who checks in at milestones,” he notes. “I take it from the drawing board to handing over the keys.”

He leads a department that oversees capital projects on a global scale, encompassing not only new construction but also renovations, infrastructure upgrades, utility management, permitting, and regulatory inspections. Whether Neogen is acquiring or leasing space, Yamani ensures that facilities meet functional and strategic needs.

This proactive and comprehensive approach has earned him the trust of Neogen’s leadership.

“Our team is expected to deliver projects that don’t just meet today’s needs—they need to anticipate what the company will need five, ten years down the line,” Yamani says.

The Building 1 project exemplifies that philosophy. Slated for completion in 2025, the facility is designed to support Neogen’s growth ambitions in domestic and international markets. Every design decision—from HVAC and lab layouts to utility corridors and equipment staging—was made with scalability and flexibility.

Strengthening the foundation

Neogen’s acquisition of 3M’s food safety division marks a significant leap forward in its market presence. For Yamani and his team, this merger introduced both complexity and opportunity.

“We had to think fast and act faster,” he says. “Suddenly, we weren’t just supporting our growth—we were integrating an entirely new business unit.”

That integration required coordination across multiple departments, geographies, and regulatory environments. Yamani’s experience across the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors—particularly at firms like AMGEN and TEVA—proved invaluable in navigating those challenges.

At the same time, the emphasis remained on the core mission: safeguarding the world’s food supply.

“Every square foot of this building plays a part in achieving that,” he says. “It’s not just about construction. It’s about impact.”

By unifying disparate teams and technologies into one cutting-edge facility, Yamani enables Neogen to enhance its operational agility, speed up innovation cycles, and reinforce its position as a trusted partner to the food and agriculture sectors.

Developing the next generation

While Building 1 is the most visible representation of Yamani’s impact, he’s equally focused on building something less tangible but just as important—the next generation of technical leadership at Neogen.

“Every major project is also an opportunity to train our future engineers and project managers,” he says. “We bring junior staff into every phase, so they see how it all fits together—from zoning and permitting to final equipment installation.”

His mentorship ensures that knowledge is shared and innovation is fostered at every level of the organization.

“It’s about leaving behind more than just a finished building,” he adds. “It’s about creating a team that can do this work long after I’m gone.”

Even as Neogen evolves into a more complex, globally integrated company, Yamani sees that growth as a shared endeavor.

“The work we do touches every part of the company,” he says. “And when you see it come together—from concept to completion—it’s incredibly rewarding.”