Galderma expansion project awarded public funding

27-Jan-2016 - Last updated on 28-Jan-2016 at 10:54 GMT

The Nestlé Skin Health division is building on to its existing North American manufacturing plant, boosting production capacity and increasing employment at the site by more than 20%.

Baie-d'Urfé, Quebec, (a suburb of Montreal) is home to the company’s only North American facility, which makes skin care products, namely creams and lotions for brands like Cetaphil.

The city is backing the project with $418,000. Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard announced the contribution at this month’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, according to Sara King-Abadi, reporting for the Montreal Gazette.

Productivity

The existing Gladerma facility produces 80m units a year. Once the expansion project is complete, output is expected to reach 105m units.

Construction has been underway for several months and should finish within the year, adding 77,000 square feet to the manufacturing facility, writes King-Abadi.

As much as 75% of the company’s product is distributed in the US. And, thanks to the current venture, Galderma is “now well positioned to absorb the expected growth for the North American market,” Benoit Bélisle, human resources manager for the Baie-d’Urfé plant, tells King-Abadi.

Incentive

Galderma itself invested $46m in the manufacturing facility expansion project. The public funding contribution of $418,000 is more of an investment in the local economy than the company itself. “The amount from the government is pretty small compared to the investment from the company, but it helped,” Bélisle affirms in conversation with King-Abadi.

Quebec hopes to attract similar businesses to the area, and the funding which helped ensure that Galderma stayed put and expanded its existing plant, was a strategic move.

“Our government is making efforts to stimulate the realization of promising projects for Quebec’s economy, and to promote the growth of the life sciences industry in Quebec,” Jacques Daoust, Quebec’s minister of Economy, Innovation and Exports, says in a statement to the press.

Employment

315 people work at Quebec’s Galderma site now. And if demand keeps up, at least 65 new jobs will be created when the project is done.

These are expected to be good, well-paying jobs, which is all the better for the local economy and for attracting business of the same caliber to the area. “The new positions are set to be skilled, multi-disciplinary jobs, including engineers, lab analysts and project specialists,” affirms King-Abadi, in her article for the Montreal Gazette.