SHL Medical has revealed plans for a new manufacturing site in North Charleston, South Carolina, in response to the growing market demand for its autoinjector product portfolio. The decision stems from SHL’s strategic assessments in extending its production to North America.
The new US site will be located in North Charleston, South Carolina, and will boast approximately 25,000 m2 (270,000 ft2). With initial investments of US$ 90 million, SHL Medical is expected to create an estimate of 165 local employment opportunities. Operations are expected to launch by 2024.
The SHL Medical South Carolina site will be an advanced facility with medical device injection molding and fully automated assembly capabilities. Together with SHL’s current final assembly, labeling, and packaging operations in Deerfield Beach, Florida, the expanded manufacturing capabilities in the US will further fortify SHL’s offerings in delivering comprehensive services to its partners.
In 2019, SHL Medical developed a long-term strategy in response to the growing autoinjector demand and to meet future manufacturing needs. The announcement of the new US operation aligns with the company’s ongoing expansion, including a new Swiss site already being announced. The new production site in the US, which is to be realized preferentially and accelerated, will offer fully automated production facilities and a flexible supply chain with reduced distance to main markets.
Chairman and CEO Ulrich Faessler comments: “Demand for SHL’s products has increased significantly. Therefore, we are speeding up our plans for a new plant in the US. Similar to our upcoming European site in Zug, Switzerland, the US site will be a state-of-the-art, fully automated site. This expansion signifies SHL’s pledge to our advanced manufacturing strategy that will support our sustainability goals; and, at the same time, risk-mitigate supply chain disturbances through closer production with our customers, in light of various global events from the past two years. This further supports our customers with one-stop-shop capabilities, providing high-quality drug delivery systems to the end-users – the patients.”
