Area Development
Fareva has announced it will acquire and invest $42 million in Pfizer's consumer products manufacturing site in Henrico County, Virginia.

The two companies now have a manufacturing and supply agreement enabling the facility to continue production of Pfizer consumer products for global customers. All of the nearly 500 Pfizer workers employed at the site will transfer to Fareva, and 90 new jobs will be created.

Fareva will continue to operate the facility, which manufactures and packages brand-name products such as Chapstick, Advil and Robitussin. Headquartered in Luxembourg, the company employs 5,500 associates and operates 28 manufacturing facilities in Europe and emerging markets. It reported $1.2 billion in 2010 revenues.

The company CEO Bernard Fraisse said Fareva has been looking for the right opportunity to expand its manufacturing footprint into North America, and establish its pharmaceutical and cosmetics businesses in the U.S. "The Henrico County site has a talented and motivated workforce and state-of-the-art manufacturing, packaging and warehousing facilities that are a perfect fit for growing our commercial portfolio in this region."

Governor McDonnell approved a $650,000 grant from the Governor's Opportunity Fund to help Henrico County with the project, and approved an $800,000 performance-based grant from the Virginia Investment Partnership program. Moreover, the Virginia Jobs Investment Program will provide funding and services to support the company's recruitment, training and retraining activities.