Ribbon cut at official opening ceremony of Sartorius manufacturing site set to put Havant ‘at the heart of the future’

Left, Matt Bylett, head of operations at Sartorius Stedim Chromatography, with MP Alan Mak as he cuts the ribbon at the site.

THE ribbon-cutting ceremony of a new manufacturing site in Havant took place today, officially opening the Sartorius Centre of Excellence.

A virtual event saw Sartorius team members celebrate the opening of the 58,000 square-foot state-of-the-art centre.

Sartorius is an international pharmaceutical and laboratory equipment supplier, and will produce equipment at its new Stanbridge Road site.

MP for Havant Alan Mak, who cut the ribbon at the ceremony, said that it was a ‘privilege and an honour’ to be officially opening the new site.

Left, Matt Bylett with Alan Mak at the Sartorius site.

In a speech, he said: ‘Today, Sartorius joins a proud tradition of successful multinational businesses based here in the New Lane area.

‘Other multinationals such as Kenwood, Pfizer, Colt and others have made this area a great success, and we are grateful to you for your investment and your contribution to our community.

‘I’m pleased to say that Sartorius is the latest in a series of businesses to join the New Lane area in Havant, and I’m delighted that you’re bringing new skilled jobs to our area - high skilled, high wage, high quality jobs for local people.

‘When Leigh Park was built after the Second War War, it was places like New Lane that provided the work opportunities for those new residents coming to our area.

‘Now with the regeneration that’s happening, we will once again be at the heart of the future.’

Cutting-edge technology such as chromatography equipment being produced at the site will be used in Covid vaccine production lines.

Alan Mak added: ‘Not only is this a fantastic new facility for our community, it’s also critical to Sartorius’s future, and I’m delighted that you’ve chosen Havant.

‘You’ve also played a critical role in the UK’s response to the coronavirus, and our world-leading vaccination programme.

‘So all of you here at Sartorius can be very proud of the Herculean efforts you are making saving lives here and across the world.’

The centre of excellence will be used by skilled engineers to design and manufacture a range of systems for the biopharmaceutical market.

These systems are vital for the manufacture of injectable drugs as treatments for cancer and diabetes, as well as viral vaccine production.