The Pennsylvania based West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (WPS), global market leader in the closure systems as well as syringe components for use with injectable drugs, is expanding its Singapore facility by investing Singapore Dollar 45 million. The propose investment is to meet its growing Asia Pacific business. The expansion is likely to be completed by 2010 and it will include the additional manufacturing capacity for its premium product technologies in respect of pharmaceutical and medical device components.
In an email interview with Yeoh Keat Chuan, executive director, biomedical sciences group, economic development board, told Pharmabiz that, "WPS has selected Singapore as ideal manufacturing base for producing high-end products. This is a strong testimony to Singapore's highly qualified workforce, and established track record for meeting the stringent regulatory requirements of the biomedical industry. West's expansion is a timely investment to take advantage of the fast growing customer base in Singapore and the rest of Asia. This expansion will create over 100 jobs and increase production capacity by 30 per cent".
"Singapore, with its strategic location and flourishing biomedical industry, is a very important hub for company's Asia Pacific customers," said Ron van Dijk, managing director and vice president, Asia Pacific. "The Singapore plant, established in 1983, has seen unprecedented growth in recent years. We are delighted that this expansion will allow us to meet the growing needs of our pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical customers in the region."
WPS's Singapore plant manufactures packaging components used for injectable drug delivery and diagnostic systems. WPS is the only manufacturer of its kind in Singapore, and its local customers include Baxter, BD and Schering Plough. Furthermore, the company's Singapore plant supports regional customers in China, India and Australia, which includes clients like GE Healthcare, Ranbaxy and Hospira.
Approximately 100 million WPS components are used every day. Besides seals and stoppers, these components can also be found in hospital IV drips, disposable and pre-filled syringes and dental cartridges. WPS customers are the world's leading pharmaceutical manufacturers, including Abbot Laboratories, sanofi aventis, Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk A/S, GSK, Novartis and Pfizer.
The company has established a strong partnership with various Singapore Government agencies in continuous skills upgrading and productivity improvement for its workers. For example, West Pharma is working with the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) to redesign some of its manufacturing processes in order to accommodate its more mature workers.
West Pharmaceuticals has a market capitalization of S$ 2.4 billion. It has enjoyed a strong sales growth in the last five years, with consolidated net sales of S$ 1.39 billion in 2006, an increase of 30.5 per cent over the prior year, Chuan added.