Bangalore: West Pharmaceutical India Packaging, an indirect subsidiary of West Pharmaceutical Services, US, hosted a ceremony to mark the start of construction of its new compression molding facility in Sri City, Chennai, India. The plant will become part of West's global supply chain for its world-class, standard-setting pharmaceutical packaging components.

In June 2012, West signed a 99-year lease on 72,800 square meters of land in the Sri City Special Economic Zone (SEZ). Sri City offers all the advantages of an SEZ with a metropolitan location and was selected primarily on suitability because of land, availability of utilities, labor suitability, logistics, quality of life and SEZ special factors.

Mr Donald E Morel Jr, chairman and CEO, West, said that, "We are experiencing a very exciting period of growth and business expansion in Asia and we are proud to begin construction of our first facility in India. The plant in India will help West meet market demand and establishes a West presence near our pharmaceutical customers in India."

Construction of phase I will begin in August 2012 on a metal seal assembly and compression molding facility that will produce metal and elastomeric pharmaceutical components used in primary packaging of injectable medicines manufactured by West's pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical customers in India and the wider Asia Pacific region.

The built-up area of phase I will be 15,300 square meters, with commercial production of metal components expected to begin in the first quarter of 2014. Production of a range of West's high-quality standard elastomeric components is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2015. The capability to produce ready-to-sterilize components will be available by 2016. The built-up area for the plant and office will eventually reach 37,700 square meters at the completion of Phase 3 in 2023.