Staff Writer – Kinston Free Press
March 10, 2011
West Pharmaceuticals will invest $29 million in its Kinston plant during the next five years, company, state and local leaders announced Thursday.
The announcement was made during a dinner event at the Chef and the Farmer Restaurant.
“It’s great to be back in Kinston,” Don Morel, chairman and CEO of the Pennsylvania-based company, told the audience.
West has operated a manufacturing plant in Kinston since 1974. The original plant, on the Rouse Road Extension, was destroyed in a deadly explosion in 2003. The current plant opened in the U.S. 70 West Industrial Park in 2004. West invested $20 million to expand that plant in 2007, and will put $29 million more to upgrade it with “world-class technologies” that are designed to help the company meet a growing demand for pharmaceutical products, which creates the potential for adding to the local workforce.
Morel said the national and international market for West’s products is expected to grow by 2 to 4 percent a year.
“We just need to make sure we have the right capacity in the right places,” he said.
Norris Tolson, president and CEO of the N.C. Biotechnology Center, said West’s investment will help the state develop it’s “biotech cluster.”
“They represent the supply chain that feeds (vaccine) manufacturers what they need,” Tolson explained.
State and local officials praised West for it’s continuing commitment to Lenoir County.
“We welcome your expansion in Lenoir County, and we stand ready to assist you however and whenever we can,” said George Graham, chairman of the Lenoir County commissioners.
Kinston’s plant was competing with other West plants in Florida and Nebraska for the investment, but Morel said the choice to go with Kinston was driven by the quality of the local workforce, strong partnerships with state and local government and the geographic area, since Kinston will serve as a backup to a sister plant in Pennsylvania.
“We do it with the people that are on the plant floor day in and day out, and with our partners,” Morel said.
David Anderson can be reached at 252-559-1077 or danderson@freedomenc.com