Injection molder and thermoformer Plastikon Industries Inc. plans to open a medical vials plant in Lawrence, Kan.
Plastikon will invest more than $7 million in the project and create 126 jobs, according to an Oct. 21 news release from the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce.
“After many months of research and analysis we decided on Lawrence … because of the highly skilled biotech and pharmaceutical employment base this great community offers,” Kaveh Soofer, Plastikon's vice president of global sales and engineering, said in the release.
Plastikon officials were unavailable for further comment.
Hayward, Calif.-based Plastikon will buy a 40,000-square-foot biopharmaceutical plant in Lawrence that formerly was operated by biological products supplier Serologicals Corp. of Norcross, Ga.
Plastikon also considered facilities in Chicago and South Carolina for the plant, which is scheduled to open in the second quarter of 2011.
The Kansas Bioscience Authority has provided a letter of support to Plastikon to establish its sterile fluid-filled resin products manufacturing operation in Kansas. If the investment is approved by KBA's board, KBA funds will help Plastikon establish and grow its presence in Lawrence.
The firm has plants in Hayward and in Leitchfield, Ky.; and several overseas facilities in China.