£12m expansion by Penn creates valleys jobs

Penn Pharmaceutical Group is launching a major expansion programme which will create 133 skilled and well paid jobs and safeguard the future of a further 100 jobs at Tredegar.

Backed by the Welsh Assembly Government's Single Investment Fund, Penn plans to extend its current facilities at Tafarnaubach Industrial Estate where the company currently employs nearly 250 people.

Peter George, CEO of Penn Pharma, said:”The backing from the Welsh Assembly Government has been outstanding, and instrumental in Penn’s decision to develop its current site and bring the work to Wales. It strengthens our commitment to the local community and as a leading Welsh company we will endeavour to payback the Assembly Governments faith in us by driving sustainable growth and employment.”

Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones said:" Penn Pharmaceuticals' latest investment demonstrates that - despite the general economic downturn - some key companies in vital sectors are confidently investing in the future and are creating precisely the kind of skilled jobs that the Welsh economy needs.

"The project also demonstrates the Assembly Government's readiness to support business expansion and innovation through the Single Investment Fund.

"I am determined that we will do everything possible - not only through the single Investment Fund but through all the services delivered by the streamlined Flexible Support for Business system - to back Welsh companies with the vision to prepare for sustainable growth ."

Penn, founded thirty years ago and based at Tredegar for the past twenty years, is a highly specialised pharmaceutical company which combines clinical trial and drug development with low volume manufacturing. The company has achieved very strong growth in recent years, with customers from many of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies in the UK, EU and USA.

The company has already invested in some additional capacity, including an off-site storage and distribution facility near Tredegar, and in the extension and refurbishment of its laboratories.

To pave the way for future growth, Penn intends to undertake a complete redevelopment of its Tredegar base which will not only increase capacity but also improve the efficiency of material flow from production areas to storage space.

In the short term, the company will move existing stores to a site at Oakdale to allow the expansion of its clinical trials supplies and manufacturing facilities. Further redevelopment phases will include the extension of existing buildings, the relocation of the staff restaurant and the refurbishment of laboratories.

The total cost of building work and of the purchase of new equipment is estimated to be £12.2 million.

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04 March, 2009