October 31, 2014
By Krystle Vermes, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
China-based subsidiary UniTao Pharmaceuticals announced on Oct. 30 that it has purchased a Boehringer Ingelheim plant in Petersburg, Va., and will invest $22 million to establish operations and create 376 new jobs.
The company is a subsidiary of Tenry Pharmaceutical Co., which manufactures ingredients for over-the-counter medications. This move is the result of a meeting between company officials and Gov. Terry McAuliffe, which took place in Shanghai, according to Virginia Business.
“This project will have a tremendous impact in the city of Petersburg and the surrounding region,” McAuliffe said in a statement, according to the news source. “I had the great privilege of meeting with company officials during my Asia marketing mission last week in Shanghai, China, to officially close this significant win. UniTao’s new manufacturing operation in the commonwealth is another milestone in building a new Virginia economy and builds on Virginia’s longstanding and growing relationship with China.”
Boehringer Ingelheim announced that the plant would be closing last year, which would affect 240 employees. Now, those employees will be given the chance to apply for new jobs.
“We will be looking for manufacturing pharmaceutical expertise, so we will be looking to that talent pool,” Christian Munson, UniTao Pharmaceutical spokesperson, told the news source. “However, there won’t be 240 hires tomorrow. We are figuring out what we are going to be doing at this plant still. Manufacturing will begin in a year or two.”
Tenry Pharmaceutical currently employs 500 people and has five subsidiary operations, according to the Times Dispatch. The company was formed in 2005.
For the project, the state of Virginia needed to compete against California and China. McAuliffe approved a $1 million grant from the Governor’s Opportunity Fund to nab the opportunity, according to the Associated Press. As a result of the deal, the company will be eligible to use tax exemptions on manufacturing equipment. It will also receive a major business facility job tax credit.
