Almac is expanding again. Part of its plan is to add to a production line at a facility in Northern Ireland for its Almac Pharma Services group. The company will get some government support for the project, which will add nearly 230 jobs.
According to UTV, the company will invest £13.7 million in two projects at a facility in Craigavon, Northern Ireland. It is expanding a production line and will also adding a 13,400 square feet formulation development facility and analytical laboratories. The company will get £2 million from Invest Northern Ireland to help with the projects. The jobs are expected to be added over the next three years.
The company said the production expansion is to meet growing demand for a laxative it manufacturers for one of its clients. The facility wll add blending equipment and an automated packing and integrated cartoning line. The work is slated to be complete and new production up and running in November.
Almac's Graeme McBurney said, "Centralizing and expanding our production in Craigavon will mean more cost effective manufacturing and optimal quality control and distribution."
The company has been on an expansion spree for a couple of years. Last year it expanded an API production facility at Craigavon, its European headquarters. That project included adding two 1,000-liter reactors and a pressure filter dryer. The expansion allows it to produce APIs up to 150 kg in batch size. In the U.S. the company got FDA approval in February for a packaging operation in Audubon, PA. Almac invested about $10 million in the 100,000-square-foot facility.
- here's the UTV story
- read the release