WILSON — A company that makes containers and injections for vaccines and other drugs will build a new manufacturing plant in WILSON, creating 400 jobs by the end of the decade, officials announced on Monday.
A U.S.-based subsidiary of German firm SCHOTT Pharma will begin building the production facility this year and invest $371 million in the project, the company said in a news release.
The plant will produce prefillable polymer and glass syringes for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, which should help increase U.S. supplies of injectable vaccines and other treatments involving messenger RNA as well as GLP-1, which is for the treatment of diabetes. The facility should start operating in 2027.
“The impact of this facility will go far beyond local job creation in North Carolina and will relieve stress on the entire pharmaceutical industry supply chain,” SCHOTT Pharma CEO Andreas Reisse said. SCHOTT Pharma said it employs over 4,600 workers worldwide.
SCHOTT chose Wilson County in part because of nearly $23 million in state and local monetary, infrastructure and training incentives, according to the N.C. Department of Commerce. Nearly $5 million in cash payments awarded by an economic incentives committee are contingent on the company meeting job-creation and investment thresholds for the Job Development Investment Grant.
The company also considered Anderson/Greenville, South Carolina, for the project, according to documents released by the commerce department.
“Wilson County stood out in a nationwide search for a number of reasons, particularly for its favorable pool of local talent and its proximity to the Research Triangle area,” said Christopher Cassidy, President of SCHOTT North America. “Expanding operations in the U.S. addresses rapidly growing demand for our high-value solutions.”
The new jobs in Wilson, located 50 miles east of Raleigh, are expected to be created by 2030 and will pay an average of at least $57,868 annually.
“North Carolina’s pro-growth and low-tax policies, along with the $40 million investment in the new biologics training facility at Wilson Community College, are paying off for Wilson County and the BioPharma Crescent,” said North Carolina Sen. Buck Newton (R-4th). “SCHOTT Pharma’s $371 million capital investment and 401 high-wage jobs will strengthen our local economy. We look forward to a long and successful future for them here in Wilson.”
More than 25,000 injections per minute are provided to patients worldwide through a product produced by SCHOTT Pharma, according to a release from the company.
SCHOTT Pharma has operated a manufacturing facility in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, for more than 20 years. The company underwent a nationwide site selection process to find a facility with future growth opportunities. In a press release, SCHOTT said it is not guaranteeing additional investment in the Wilson site.
Beyond the state and local economic development entities, the company said the North Carolina Biotechnology Center and the Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center at NC State assisted with their process.
North State Journal contributed to this report.
