The coming Datwyler plant in Middletown will manufacture elastomer products for injectible drug delivery systems. (Submitted photo/Datwyler)
MIDDLETOWN — The town of Middletown bested two other finalists vying for a $102-million pharmaceutical component manufacturing plant set to break ground in December.
According to Datwyler vice president of Injection Systems Megan Williamson, “Middletown is a perfect spot for our new facility.”
“The Mid-Atlantic area in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey is a pharmaceutical hotbed and we have a lot of customers who will be near the plant.”
She described Delaware officials as “excellent” to deal with and supportive of the company’s needs and concerns, “That also played a part in the selection itself,” she said.
Other operational sites were considered in Pennsylvania and Maryland. A Datwyler plant is located in Pennsauken, New Jersey.
Ms. Williamson estimated the more than 160,000-square-foot plant in an undisclosed section in the southwest part of town will be operational in mid-2018. The company opted not to disclose the exact location of the facility.
The company plans to staff the plant with about 120 employees, including executive, operators and managers. The vast majority of personnel will include new hires, likely to live in the southern New Castle County area.
“It is our intention for a lot of operational folks to be located close to the plant,” Ms. Williamson said.
The company will manufacture elastomer components for injectible drug delivery systems at a facility it described as “highly automated.”
Once entrenched, Datwyler aims to bond with its community through outreach and contributions in some way.
“(It’s) something we would like to do and is part of the company mission,” Ms. Williamson said, “but no set plans have been made yet.”
Datwyler has more than 5,000 employees worldwide covering operations in Asia and Europe.