Over the coming months, Actavis Ltd will be investing €13 million on the construction of a new warehouse adjacent to the plant. This investment is being made with the support of Malta Enterprise and the Ministry of the Finance, Economy and Investment. This was announced by Patrick Cachia, managing director of Actavis Ltd, during Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi’s visit to the facility in Zejtun.

Mr Cachia added: “The new warehouse will provide the required platform and infrastructure to the manufacturing site for future growth. This is strategically important for the Actavis Group since it is one of the main key launch sites for new products. The new warehouse will have a built up area of around 5,000 square metres and maximum capacity of 7,500 pallet locations.”

Together with the management team, Mr Cachia accompanied the Prime Minister and his delegation on a tour of the premises including the offices and the laboratories. Mr Cachia observed that, “Actavis is one of the global leaders in the production of generic pharmaceuticals. The Malta facility is a key site to the Actavis group through strong customer service, first-to market launches, strong GMP and EHS commitment while maintaining a cost competitive edge through a continuous improvement philosophy. This year the company has increased its packaging capacity further by employing another 20 employees to have all its 10 packaging lines working on a four shift. The company also boasts a research and development unit that has 53 highly skilled employees. The Malta plant employs a total 603 people.”

Following the tour of the premises, Dr Gonzi met company employees in the canteen, where they had the opportunity to ask questions on issues of general concern during an informal round table meeting.

Actavis is currently carrying out an integration process with the Watson group and, after the deal is complete by the end of the year, it will become the third largest generic company worldwide.