PuraCap Laboratories will invest $2.5 million to expand its operations center into the company’s global pharmaceutical packaging and distribution hub, 24 miles south of Bowling Green, in Franklin, Kentucky.

The Franklin site currently consists of two packaging lines with three pouching lines expected to be operational in the coming weeks. In this new project, the company plans to add two more packaging suites to support new and existing business and expand the warehouse into the existing facility. The existing 180,000 square-foot building is large enough to house the changes.

“We are very pleased to expand our business in Franklin. Our recent acquisition of the site in Franklin is one of many that PuraCap International has taken in the past year to expand our presence in the generic pharmaceutical industry,” said PuraCap International President Sean Weeks.

“Providing full customer services from this site allows for streamlined supply chain functions, as this location is central to a majority of our customers’ distribution centers in the USA. We appreciate the support shown by the state of Kentucky for the continued growth and success of our company,” he added.

To encourage the investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) in February preliminarily approved the company for tax incentives up to $160,000 through the Kentucky Business Investment program.

The performance-based incentive allows a company to keep a portion of its investment over the agreement term through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets. In addition, PuraCap can receive resources from the Kentucky Skills Network.

The project comes nearly a year after PuraCap purchased Blu Pharmaceuticals, a privately held generic pharmaceutical company, which located in Franklin in 2007.

Since the acquisition, PuraCap added packaging operations, increased distribution capacities, purchased new equipment and nearly doubled employment to include 25 Kentucky residents.

“Pharmaceutical production, packaging and distribution was Kentucky’s third leading export last year,” said Governor Matt Bevin. “PuraCap Laboratories’ significant investment represents continued growth in this industry and reflects positively on the dedicated workforce of Simpson County. We are very grateful that PuraCap chose Kentucky, and we wish the company ongoing success.”