Vetter plans to invest $320 million on 10-year expansion plan

First view of Vetter’s initial long-term plans in the city of Des Plaines. Source: Vetter Pharma International GmbH

Company provides insights into its long-term expansion plans that include the purchasing of property in the City of Des Plaines

Vetter provides state-of-the-art manufacturing, from early clinical development through commercial filling and packaging of injectable drugs. For this project, the company plans investments of approximately $320 million on construction and site improvements over more than 10 years. Once it has reached its final expansion stage, the 18-acre site would include 1,138,237 sq. ft. of facility space. If approved, the facility would be the second US manufacturing site of the company. The Des Plaines project would complement its existing US clinical development support service offering which consists of a small-scale manufacturing facility located in the nearby Village of Skokie. Des Plaines would be the recipient of several positive outcomes including the creation of approximately 400–500 new jobs by the final expansion stage. Many of these are expected to be hired locally.

“We believe that this project represents a win-win scenario for the residents of Des Plaines and Vetter alike,” said Vetter Managing Director Peter Soelkner. “For us, it would be the next step in our plan for continuous growth. Several of our customers have requested commercial manufacturing resources both in US and Europe for their multi-facetted market production needs. Being in a continuous dialogue with them, such a facility would enlarge Vetter’s geographical manufacturing opportunities, and thus, increase our customer’s flexibility. We are excited about the positive outcomes this project can bring to the city of Des Plaines, and becoming a good and trustworthy neighbour to its residents. Des Plaines is a great partner in the process, we would be happy to receive the projects approval,” said Soelkner.

Founded as a modest pharmacy in Ravensburg, Germany, the company has grown from a local packager to a world-leading contract development and manufacturing organisation, today serving the top 10 (bio-)pharmaceutical companies as well as small and midsize companies. If approved and realised, the facility would complement Vetter’s existing site at the Illinois Science+Technology Park in Skokie which has approximately 70 employees, most of whom are local residents. The purpose and scope of work between the two facilities would not be overlapping, but acting as a complementary service to its customers.