Oliver Healthcare Packaging (Oliver), a leading healthcare company driving quality and innovation in medical packaging, has announced that it will establish a new manufacturing facility in the southern state of Johor in Malaysia, its largest regional plant. The company broke ground on the 122,000-square-foot facility, which is located within the i-Tech Valley, an integrated industrial park in the established economic zone of Iskandar Puteri, Johor. The plant is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2024 and will supply its rapidly growing Asia-Pacific customer base. 

The new manufacturing facility will have the latest state-of-the-art equipment, operating ISO-7 and ISO-8 clean rooms, while meeting growing regulatory standards for medical packaging. The plant will produce pouches, lids, CleanCut cards, and roll stock, and will boast the latest in printing technology with an emphasis on supporting its growing medical device and pharmaceutical customers in the region. 

"Southeast Asia is an important region for us, and this site was strategically chosen to serve the large concentration of pharmaceutical and medical device companies that currently operate in Singapore and Malaysia. It will also help us strengthen our regional position and address any future supply-chain challenges and gaps in expertise that may impact the healthcare industry," said Michael Benevento, President and CEO, Oliver. 

 In line with the company's commitment to embedding corporate responsibility and stewardship into its business practices, the Johor plant will also emphasise sustainability throughout its manufacturing process. To help mitigate its environmental impact within the healthcare industry, plans for the facility include the installation of solar panels to supplement and reduce dependability on local utilities. Additionally, some of the materials used in the production process will be 100 per cent recyclable, and recycling programmes will be implemented to not only reduce the amount of scrap material generated during the manufacturing process, but also the amount of waste sent to landfills. 

"As healthcare demands continue to increase, our customers in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries have witnessed impressive sales growth across the region. Driven by our unwavering commitment to innovation, quality, and service excellence, we look forward to better serving our customers' needs and truly redefining the healthcare and packing landscape in Asia," added Dr Aldin Velic, General Manager, Southeast Asia, Oliver. 

Oliver also has a Technical Centre in Singapore where its research and development takes place, as well as manufacturing plants in the US, Europe and China.