IMA Life North America has completed a $30 million manufacturing plant in the Town of Tonawanda and says it is hiring 70 people as production increases. The 120,000-square-foot facility makes equipment used to process and package medicines, including industrial freeze dryers.
The company has 195 employees in Tonawanda and is actively adding positions, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul's announcement of the completed project. The new jobs are a hiring goal in progress, not 70 positions already filled.
Larger plant replaces an older site
The new building at 700 Colvin Woods Parkway includes 90,000 square feet of production space and 30,000 square feet of offices on a 15-acre parcel. It replaces IMA Life's 60,000-square-foot facility at 2175 Military Road.
The larger space is meant to increase output of freeze-drying equipment for pharmaceutical customers. The machines turn liquid medicines and other products into shelf-stable powder in vials, making them easier to store and transport, according to the governor's office.
IMA Life also makes washers, filling equipment, automatic loading and unloading systems, labelers and equipment that separates sensitive drug-production processes from the surrounding environment. The company says its products go to customers worldwide, including Pfizer and Moderna.
The Tonawanda operation is part of IMA Group, an Italian manufacturer with about 7,400 employees globally. The release describes IMA Life North America as one of the group's production sites for pharmaceutical-processing equipment.
Public incentives tied to jobs
New York's economic development agency, Empire State Development, will provide up to $1.1 million in Excelsior Jobs Program tax credits if IMA meets its job-creation commitments. The amount is a potential performance-based credit, not cash already paid to the company.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said the county industrial development agency supported the project with $5.1 million in incentives. The governor's release does not break down the county incentive package or state how much of it has been used.
IMA Life North America President Ernesto Renzi said the company's machines are designed to preserve pharmaceutical products and maintain sterile production conditions. Hochul and local officials framed the expansion as an investment in Western New York manufacturing and jobs, while the company's hiring is still underway.
The completed plant substantially increases the company's Tonawanda footprint, but the announcement did not provide a timetable for filling the 70 new positions or a public application link. IMA Life remains at the new Colvin Woods Parkway location as it ramps up production.
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