Éric Marée, chairman of the executive board, explains: "This project is an essential step in helping to realise Virbac's international ambitions and in securing our long-term future. Our investment programme for 2014 has focussed on two major industrial projects, in France and in Mexico, amounting to a total of close to 55 million Euros."

The new Virbac Mexico site is seen as the Southern Hemisphere's alter ego of the new Virbac 8 production facility at Carros. The specific objective of this new industrial facility is to increase the capacity for production of medications in sterile injectable forms, 60% of which are destined for export, mainly to Latin America, Asia, Africa and the Middle-East. This investment is a reflection of Virbac's dynamic innovation and investment policies.

The technological issues involved, the challenges faced in bringing this new site into production and the Group's ambitions for international certification in the medium term have led to Pierre Catignol being appointed to the newly-created post of director of Industrial Operations Mexico. In operational matters he will report to Christophe Magaud, managing director of Virbac's Mexican subsidiary, and in functional terms to Marc Bistuer, Group Industrial Operations and Quality Assurance Director. For Marc Bistuer, "Pierre Catignol's technical knowledge, his international experience, notably in Argentina, and his ability to manage projects involving technical and cultural change made him the ideal candidate for Virbac's Mexican subsidiary."

Virbac Mexico

This new site is located at Zapopan, a suburb of Guadalajara in the state of Jalisco, and now houses all of the subsidiary's activities.  Covering a total area of 7,800 m², it represents an investment in Mexico by Virbac of 22 million Dollars. The site is made up of four main zones: an administrative and services area, a zone housing the quality control laboratories and the regional R&D centre, a production zone and finally a logistics warehouse. It will comply with Brazilian MAPA standards, the strictest in Latin America, with the medium term aim being to achieve certification to the most demanding international standards. Finally, Virbac Mexico will be certified to LEED standards (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), an international programme which promotes an environmentally-friendly approach to building design.