Chemeq on track in East Rockingham

LOCAL pharmaceutical company Chemeq has unveiled plans for a $25 million manufacturing facility.

The manufacturing plant, located on a eight-hectare sight in the East Rockingham Industrial Park, will produce two pharmaceuticals – CHEMEC, an alternative to antibiotics for pigs and CHEMYDE, a preservative used in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.

Chemeq estimates that the export market for the products is worth $2 billion.

Chemeq chairman and chief executive officer Graham Melrose said a consortium had been appointed to undertake the construction, headed up by Transfield.

“Reporting to them (Transfield) will be Worley, they are an Australian group of engineers with a lot of industry experience,” Mr Melrose said.

“They are generally regarded amongst the top chemical engineers, and also in the group is Spowers.”

Chemeq has reached the end of the approval process for the plant and it’s hoped construction will start as soon as possible, with a January 2003 completion date set for the plant.

The site for the plant, assigned by LandCorp, is designated for low hazard, low emission, non-toxic manufacturing.

“We have a very high tech water cleaner for the factory,” Mr Melrose said.

“It’s state of the art and based on UV light. We will clean up the water to the point that it’s perfect for it to go straight into the sewerage.

“The site is more than one kilometre away from any housing, and it’s a clean industry anyway.”

The development will make Chemeq the first Australian company to set up a substantial pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in WA. The plant will employ only around 40 people once its up and running early next year.