AS part of a long-term business development goal, Douglas Pharmaceuticals (Fiji) Ltd aims to expand its manufacturing range.
This was noted by general manager Firoz Ghazali, on Saturday evening, as the Nadi-based company reached a new milestone with the opening of its new warehouse.
“We started construction in July,” he said.
“We completed phase one, which is the pharmaceutical, inventorial, environmental control facility, but the whole building is now ready.
“We are expanding the manufacturing ranges, which will almost triple the size of what we had. It will all depend on the business interests, which currently include liquid formulations, cream, soft gel and sachets. So if you consider all those five segments of our business, you’re talking about one to one and a half years. But we will do this in phases.”
Mr Ghazali also noted the high expenditure of pharmaceuticals, adding that their current facility in Martintar, Nadi was worth about $16million.
He said they had managed to save costs by employing internal engineering resources for the construction of their new warehouse and other locally available material.
“We started with five staff and are now over 80, and if we increase our manufacturing capability, our workforce could be somewhere around 150,” he said.
The warehouse was officially opened by Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, who commended the rapid expansion of the pharmaceutical company, which is head-quartered in Auckland, New Zealand.
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said the Government encouraged more private sector participation through various incentives.
