Esteve Química inaugurates second factory in China, a joint venture with the Huadong Group

Esteve Química, affiliate of the Esteve pharmaceutical group, has inaugurated their second factory for active pharmaceutical ingredients in China. Participants in the inaugural event included Albert Esteve, president of Esteve Química, accompanied by a number of representatives from the company, plus representatives from the Huadong Group (partners in the joint venture), local authorities from the Zhejiang province and the Spanish consul in Shanghai, Antonio Segura.

With 125 workers on staff and a manufacturing volume of 160 cubic meters, this new facility has required an investment of 40 million euros. The factory, which is 80,000 square meters, is now Esteve’s most important in China. In addition to the manufacturing facilities, the center has an R&D center for process development and a quality department, as well as offices (where the financial, purchasing, logistics and human resources departments are located).

Production from this new plant, located approximately 200 kilometers south of Shanghai, in the city of Shaoxing (Zhejiang province), will mainly be sold on the demanding markets of the United States, Europe and Japan. It is also a good opportunity to supply the growing Chinese pharmaceutical market.
The Shaoxing center is the result of a joint venture between Esteve Química and Yiwu Huayi Investment (which belongs to the Huadong pharmaceutical group, one of the most important in the Zhejiang province). As a result of this agreement, Esteve Huayi Pharmaceutical (EHP) was created in 2005. Esteve holds 61% of the capital in this company.

This investment is part of the company’s strategy to strengthen and increase their activity on an international level –by 2015 they estimate international sales to make up 66% of their total turnover– and to reinforce their presence in the global fine chemicals market.

In Catalonia, Esteve Química has two factories, one in Celrà and the other in Banyeres del Penedès.