West Pharmaceutical Services Inc. opened a new digital technology center in Bengaluru, India, and expanded its presence in South Korea.
The Bengaluru site, which spans 17,000 square feet, will serve as a global center of excellence for West's digital and transformation team, alongside teams based in Exton, Pa., and Eschweiler, Germany, according to a company news release.
Investment details were not disclosed.
The DTC is part of West's efforts to reach out to customers through digital marketing, digital manufacturing and automation.
West is recruiting technology professionals for the facility in areas such as network security, cloud architecture, ERP and applications development. The teams will work to support West's efforts in e-commerce, digital marketing, the SAP S/4 Hana (ERP) Cloud business suite rollout, digital manufacturing and product development, including artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and smart devices.
West has had a presence in India since 2014, with a manufacturing plant in Sri City and a commercial office in Hyderabad.
The company also expanded its presence in South Korea through a new sales office, West Pharmaceutical Services Korea Ltd. The office is a result of West's purchase of the distribution business of GIS Korea Ltd., a privately owned medical device and health care products distributor serving the South Korean market, and which previous was West's distributor in the Asia-Pacific region.
Details of the purchase were not disclosed.
The combined local insight of the GIS Korea team with West's global manufacturing reach will better serve customers and position the company for growth, according to Karen Flynn, senior vice president and chief commercial officer for West.
GIS has partnered with West since 2003, building a network of customers across segments, West said. GIS, which has been operating for more than 95 years, distributes integrated containment and delivery solutions in pharmaceutical, biologic, generic and medical device customer groups.
West, headquartered in Exton, Pa., is a manufacturer of packaging components and delivery systems for injectable drugs and health care products. It has locations in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. It reported net sales of $1.7 billion in 2018.