Bayer broke ground on a $43.6 million expansion of its Myerstown, Pennsylvania, manufacturing facility where it produces over-the-counter drugs, according to local reports.
The project will boost the plant’s packaging and production areas by 70,000 square feet and will have space for eight packaging lines, the Lebanon Daily News reported. Bayer expects to wrap up the expansion in 2025, according to a report from Local 21 News.
When complete, the facility is expected to hire for as many as 75 new positions on top of the current workforce of 630. The site produces the popular OTC medications Aleve, Claritin and Alka-Seltzer.
Bayer CEO Werner Baumann told investors in a conference call earlier this month that among the company’s current “top priorities” was moving to lock down raw materials and supply chain stability. Bayer will continue to build up inventory to “mitigate the impact of supply bottlenecks," he added.
In March, the German pharmaceutical giant announced it would spend 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) over the next three years to upgrade its manufacturing and supply chain capabilities as it dives deeper into cell and gene therapies.