AL: Pharmavite Expanding in Opelika, Creating 280 Jobs

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Governor Robert Bentley and Opelika Mayor Gary Fuller announced recently that Pharmavite has selected Opelika as the location for a new manufacturing facility. Pharmavite is one of the nation’s largest manufacturers of high quality vitamins, minerals and other dietary supplements.

The company and its business partner will be initially investing approximately $74 million in capital during the construction phase and based on future growth, expects to add to this investment in the coming years. The company expects to employ approximately 280 employees in the first year of operations.

Construction of the new plant will begin before the end of the year, with expected initial operations to commence in the 1st quarter 2013. Pharmavite’s facility will occupy a 50-acre site within the Northeast Opelika Industrial Park, located along Interstate 85 at Exit 66, and will initially be over 300,000 square feet.

“We are excited and proud that we will have a global leader in the dietary supplement industry locate in Alabama and employ 280 citizens,” said Governor Robert Bentley. “Two hundred and eighty jobs is a major announcement for any town, and these are the type of high quality jobs that we have targeted for Alabama. This is a company with high standards that puts much effort into making sure its products are thoroughly researched and based on the latest science.”

Alabama Development Office Director Greg Canfield expressed his appreciation to Pharmavite for the company’s decision to invest in Alabama. “We appreciate both the jobs and the investment that Pharmavite is making in our great state,” Canfield said. “Our state has the institutional and research structure in place to be a growing force in the life sciences field and this is a goal we plan to keep moving toward. Companies such as Pharmavite are a welcome addition to our corporate community and we look forward to their growth in Alabama.”

Pharmavite executives were very complimentary of Opelika and the State of Alabama when asked about their location decision: “This is an important step in the growth of Pharmavite and we are very excited to soon become part of the Opelika and greater Alabama community,” said Mark Walsh, Chief Operating Officer at Pharmavite. “Opelika is a good fit with our company values and the new facility will allow us to have manufacturing capacity near the Eastern U.S. markets, which make up a significant portion of our business.”

“The site selection process was very thorough and we evaluated several high-quality locations, but ultimately it was clear that Opelika, Alabama was the best fit based on the criteria we established for this location,” said Ron Pillsbury, Vice President, Operations at Pharmavite. “From the high quality work force to the strong community infrastructure, Opelika met or exceeded our expectations and we’re excited to be joining such a great community.”

“This is a great day for the City of Opelika. Pharmavite is an exceptional company and we look forward to a great partnership and I am glad to welcome them to our community.” said Opelika Mayor Gary Fuller.

For more than 40 years, Pharmavite LLC has earned and maintained the trust of healthcare professionals, consumers, and retailers by manufacturing high-quality vitamins, minerals and other dietary supplements, and all-natural foods under its Nature Made® and SOYJOY® brand names. Nature Made vitamins is the number one supplement brand in the food, drug, club and mass channels. SOYJOY is an all-natural, nutrient-rich food baked with whole soy and real fruit. Based in Northridge, California, Pharmavite LLC operates as a subsidiary of Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

For more information about this company, please visit their website: www.pharmavite.com.