Two years after signing a long-term lease on the land, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. recently dedicated a newly completed manufacturing plant in the Sri City Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in India. West specializes in packaging and delivery systems for pharmaceuticals produced by other companies in the healthcare industry. The new facility in India will be an important part of West’s production capacity in the Asia-Pacific region. Chairman and CEO, Donald E. Morel, Jr., noted at the opening that because “more and more pharmaceutical customers [are] establishing operations in India, [the] new plant will help West meet market demand.”
The company has invested $15 million into the facility over the two years since it leased the land. The facility will produce seals used in the packaging of injectable medicines, and will have an output capacity worth about $1.6 billion a year by 2018.
West's plant opening in India follows the company’s increased presence in the Asia-Pacific market in recent years. The company currently has two plants in Qingpu, China, and one in Singapore, as well as sales offices in Australia, China, India, and Singapore. The company also owns 25% of Daikyo Seiko, Ltd, in Tokyo, which packages pharmaceuticals and medical device components.
West’s connections to India are also apparent closer to home. The company’s headquarters is located in Pennsylvania’s 6th Congressional District, where Indian-Americans make up more than one third of the Asian American population. Furthermore, in 2012, the district exported $711 million of goods to Asia, accounting for 24% of its total goods exports. Exports of pharmaceuticals, medicines, and medical equipment to the region totaled $106 million, accounting for the largest value among all export sectors.
Kevin Lair is a research intern at the East-West Center and will be a senior at Washington College in the fall.