The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Animal health firm to grow Dundee presence
Buyer of manufacturing site mulling investment in Dundee R&D facility
The new owner of the former Elanco Animal Health manufacturing site in Dundee has revealed exciting expansion plans for the operation.
A substantial increase in the workforce is on the cards, and there is also the possibility of a research and development facility being established.
New Zealand company Argenta acquired the business earlier this year from US pharma giant Eli Lilly & Co.
Dr Doug Cleverly, Argenta’s managing director and cofounder, said: “We plan to expand our Dundee site, not just run it.
“We don’t buy things just to look at them – we want to grow them. This acquisition is extremely important to us. “It is a massive investment.” Dr Cleverly said Scottish Enterprise was keen to see an R&D facility at the site, now renamed Argenta Dundee.
The firm is expected to make a decision on whether to go ahead with the R&D opportunity in the next six months.
If it does get the green light, Dr Cleverly said it could start up with just a few people but employee numbers might increase substantially.
He gave the example of a similar facility in the US which went from a workforce of 10 to 60 within a year.
Dr Cleverly also hopes to grow the number of manufacturing jobs at the Dundee site, possibly by up to 30 people, within the next couple of years.
Argenta’s roots go back to 2003 and it now has a total workforce of around 450 – 120 in Dundee, 100 in the US and the remainder in New Zealand.
The company provides services to create, develop and manufacture products for the global animal health industry.
The Dundee acquisition is an important step in Argenta’s European growth strategy and follows successful expansion into the US in 2016, with the purchase of a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Fort Dodge, Iowa.
Dr Cleverly said having a manufacturing presence in Scotland will enable the company to improve the services it offers clients around the world and continue its expansion into the European market.
Products that Argenta currently manufactures in New Zealand for the European market are now expected to be made in Dundee.
Dr Cleverly said: “The Dundee site has a strong focus on quality, as well as excellent capacity and technical capabilities, and will greatly complement our other Argenta facilities.
“This is critical as all Argenta manufacturing sites are fuelled by the research and development of new animal health products, which keeps the manufacturing portfolio fresh and helps position the Argenta group as a premier, innovation-driven, international contract manufacturing organisation.”
The 80,000 sq ft facility is Argenta’s third global manufacturing site.
It includes laboratories and warehouse spaces for the production of a broad range of animal health products, including non-sterile liquids, suspensions and gels.