West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., a manufacturer of products
for injectable drug administration, hosted a groundbreaking ceremony to mark
the start of construction for a compression molding plant in the Shanghai
Qingpu Industrial Zone (SQIZ) in China. The new plant will be
adjacent to West’s injection molding facility that was dedicated in September
2009.

When completed, the plant will manufacture components used
for pharmaceutical packaging, supplying customers primarily in China
and the Asia-Pacific region. The 11,900-square-meter facility is expected to
begin production in January 2013.

“West is experiencing an exciting period of growth in
the Asia-Pacific region and we are proud to begin our second manufacturing
facility in China,”
said Donald E. Morel, Jr., West’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
“This facility is being established to provide better service to our
customers in China, offering
shorter lead times for delivery of our world-class pharmaceutical packaging
products and creating new, flexible capacity to meet the growing needs of new
customers in China
and throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Our investment in this new facility
demonstrates our commitment to and confidence in the China market.

“On behalf of West’s Board of Directors and our
employees worldwide, I would like to thank representatives of the Chinese
government and the Shanghai Qingpu Industrial Zone, in particular, for their
continued support throughout the process of planning the new facility.” In
addition to the injection molding plant in Qingpu, West’s presence in the
Asia-Pacific region includes a factory in Singapore
and sales offices in Australia,
China, India and Singapore. West is also an equity
partner of Daikyo Seiko, Ltd., Tokyo,
Japan. Daikyo
Seiko, founded in 1954, is a global leader in manufacturing ultra-clean pharmaceutical
packaging and medical device components. The West/Daikyo relationship has been
in place since 1973, encompassing a range of joint distributorship and
technology licensing agreements.