ANAHEIM, CALIF. -- Phillips-Medisize Corp. plans to expand its facilities in Kontiolahti, Finland, to support new contract wins and increasing customer demand, the medical injection molder and contract manufacturer announced Feb. 13.
The 60,000 square foot expansion will include:
- 12,000 square feet of new clean room space
- 10,000 square feet of additional warehouse capacity
- 10,000 square feet of materials and technical space
- 8,000 square feet of new production support
- expanded offices, locker rooms and metrology space.
"We'll have all of the accouterments of a high-volume drug delivery manufacturing plant," said Matt Jennings, president and CEO, at the Medical Design & Manufacturing West trade show in Anaheim.
The expansion is scheduled to be completed in the August to September time frame, he said. The company expects to increase the 336-member staff there by 15 percent over the next two years.
The need for increased molding and assembly capabilities at the Finnish site is driven by growing demand for the drug-delivery devices made there, Jennings said, such as inhalers and single-serve injection pens. When expansion is completed, the Kontiolahti facility is expected to produce between 40 million and 60 million units per year, he said.
Hudson,Wis.-based Phillips-Medisize facilities will also see expansion on the domestic side, adding 25,000 square feet at its Menomonie, Wis., campus to accommodate cold chain storage and handling for biosimilar drugs that require refrigeration and temperature control. The project, to be completed in the second quarter of 2013, also includes 12,000 square feet of class 8 clean room space.
Phillips-Medisize is also continuing its quest to find a partner in growth-market China in 2013. Jennings said he and CTO Bill Welch have visited between 30 and 40 potential partners in China in search of a company that can meet Phillips-Medisize's technical needs and will mesh well with its corporate culture.
"We have nothing to announce at this point," Jennings said. "We do anticipate getting something done this year."
