Patheon Plans To consolidate Puerto Rico Operations In Manati Manufacturing Site

Patheon is planning to consolidate its Puerto Rico operations into its manufacturing site located in Manati, and close or sell its plant in Caguas.

Wes Wheeler, president and CEO of Patheon, said: “We remain committed to growing our contract manufacturing business in Puerto Rico. We believe our customers continue to need a high quality and reliable supplier on the island. However, we have decided that it is not practical to operate two plants within close proximity of each other.

“We will consolidate our people, resources and investments at Manati and therefore concentrate on growing one ‘flagship’ site. We will work carefully with our customers, employees and authorities in Puerto Rico to affect a smooth and seamless transfer of existing products.

“We are keenly aware that the closure of Caguas may impact many of our employees and their families. With this in mind, we are developing plans to offer affected Caguas employees available positions at our Manati site. For those employees who are not able to be accommodated in Manati, we will work to assist them in the transition.”

Patheon expects to book an impairment charge of approximately $1.3m in the first quarter of fiscal 2010 in connection with the consolidation plan. The consolidation will be completed by the end of fiscal 2011, and will also result in accelerated depreciation of Caguas assets of approximately $7.0m during the 2010-2011 fiscal year period.