West Dedicates its Second Manufacturing Plant in China

West Pharmaceutical Services, a global leader in innovative solutions for injectable drug administration, hosted a dedication ceremony to mark the start-up of its recently completed compression moulding plant in the Shanghai Zhangjiang High-Tech Industrial Development Zone Qingpu Park in China. The new plant is adjacent to West’s injection moulding facility that was dedicated in September 2009.

The 11,900-square-metre compression moulding plant manufactures components used for packaging injectable drugs, supplying customers primarily in China and the Asia-Pacific region. Construction began in June 2011.

“West is experiencing an exciting period of growth in the Asia-Pacific region and we are proud to complete our second manufacturing facility in China,” said Donald E Morel Jr, West’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “This facility will provide better service to our customers, offering shorter lead times for delivery of our world-class pharmaceutical packaging products and creating new, flexible capacity to meet the growing demands for our products in China and throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Our investment in this new facility demonstrates our commitment to and confidence in the China market.

“On behalf of West’s Board of Directors and our employees worldwide, I would like to thank representatives of the Chinese government and the Shanghai Zhangjiang High-Tech Industrial Development Zone Qingpu Park, in particular, for their continued support throughout the construction of the new facility.”

“The Project Team for this facility includes representatives from our global team in China, Germany and Singapore, reflecting the strength and reach of our business,” said Warwick Bedwell, President, Asia-Pacific Region. “This plant continues our global expansion plans and is a perfect complement to the injection moulding plant already established in Qingpu. Our talented management team in China has worked hard to fulfill this important business objective that will further fuel our business growth.”

In addition to the plants in Qingpu, West’s presence in the Asia-Pacific region includes a factory in Singapore and sales offices in Australia, China, India and Singapore. The company’s first manufacturing facility in India is under construction. West is also an equity partner of Daikyo Seiko, Ltd, Tokyo, Japan. Daikyo Seiko, founded in 1954, is a global leader in manufacturing high-quality pharmaceutical packaging and medical device components. The West/Daikyo relationship has been in place since 1973, encompassing a range of joint distributorship and technology licensing agreements.