West Pharmaceutical Services Inc. has opened its first manufacturing operation in China — a plastics injection molding factory in a Shanghai industrial zone. Full commercial production will begin late in the third quarter.
The ISO:9001-certified Shanghai plant will manufacture TrimTec and InsoCap closures for intravenous-solution bottles, the company said in a news release. Lionville, Pa.-based West expects the closures to help pharmaceutical companies meet China's drug safety standards.
West will also export the closures to Europe, South America and other markets in Asia. West manufactures TrimTec closures in Stolberg, Germany, as well.
The company has to date invested $30 million in the plant, a spokesman said, higher than the $20 million estimate of initial investment the company announced when West broke ground Jan. 30, 2008.
“The dollar amount of future investment has yet to be determined,” the spokesman said in an e-mail.
The factory is about 129,000 square feet on a 7.8-acre parcel. The company had previously estimated the site to be nearly 260,000 square feet, which would have encompassed both the injection molding facility as well as an adjacent compression molding facility.
“The plans for the compression molding facility are currently being reviewed, and West will reach a decision on the specifics of its investment and construction at some point in the future,” the spokesman said.
The factory currently employs 52. West expects that number to grow as the plant reaches full capacity.
“West is experiencing an exciting period of growth in the Asia-Pacific region,” said Donald E. Morel Jr., West's chairman and CEO. “This facility was established in direct response to client demand.”
In addition to the new facility in Shanghai, West's presence in the Asia-Pacific market also includes a factory in Singapore and sales offices in Australia, China, India and Singapore.
West is an equity partner of Tokyo-based Daikyo Seiko Ltd.
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