Inward investment hits record breaking high as US company expands in Wales

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Inward investment is at a record breaking high, First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones will announce today.

The news comes as leading US company Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, Inc has announced it has extended its Pencoed facility following a £4.6million investment supported by the Welsh Government.

Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, Inc. is one of the top five diagnostic companies in the world, and manufacture more than a 100 million advanced diagnostic kits annually which are used around the globe to identify a wide range of medical conditions and diseases.

The new production line in Wales will produce 21 million ORTHO BioVue blood test cassettes annually that will be shipped to the company’s global distribution centres.

First Minister Carwyn Jones said:

“We are attracting some of the most prestigious companies from across the world to Wales, creating jobs and growth in our key markets.

“The expansion of Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, Inc in Pencoed is a great example of how we are attracting high tech global companies to Wales. I visited the company at their headquarters in Raritan New Jersey earlier in the year to discuss their ambitious expansion plans and I am delighted that we have been able to support their latest investment in Wales.

Economy Minister Edwina Hart said:

“OCD, one of the world’s top five diagnostic companies, is a key member of the life sciences sector in Wales, and I am delighted Welsh Government support helped bring this important investment and new technology to Pencoed.

“It is OCD’s only European manufacturing facility and plays a critical role in their product supply chain worldwide. The company’s importance to the Welsh economy is recognised by its anchor company status while the Pencoed facility also makes a wider contribution in Wales by collaborating and working closely with academia and NHS Wales to improve patient outcomes.”

“Ortho Clinical Diagnostics is very grateful to the Welsh Government for its support of our business,” said Robert Smith, Vice President, Worldwide Operations and Supply Chain. “This expansion will help serve the growing demand for our products and allow us to continue to innovate and produce high quality tests for our customers.”

The extraordinary reach of OCD is underlined by the fact that almost every blood transfusion in the world is touched in some way by one of its products. Its ‘total solutions’ help ensure that every patient receives blood that’s safe.

In the UK, OCD has offices in South East England and the manufacturing facility at Pencoed, which employs around 350 people in Pencoed.