Byk moves Argentine operations to Brazil

German pharmaceutical firm Byk Gulden, part of the Altana group, hasannounced plans to move its production activities in South America to Brazil from Argentina. The company is opening a new factory in the Sao Paulo area in November which will have the capacity to produce 60 million units per year. Byk is investing $56 million into the facility, and the first shipments to Argentina will begin a few months later.

Byk is transferring production in a bid to reduce costs and, being based in Brazil, will enable the firm to scale up operations in the region. However, it has not ruled out contract production of raw materials for other firms in Argentina. The company is hoping to balance a $10 million trade deficit in Brazil with sales to other Mercosur countries and grow its revenues in that country, which presently total $125 million per year.