Purolite is headquartered in King of Prussia.
King of Prussia-based Purolite will invest $190 million in a new Chester County facility, a project expected to create 170 jobs over the next five years, according to Gov. Josh Shapiro's office.
The life sciences company was acquired by Minnesota-based Ecolab Inc. (NYSE: ECL) for $3.7 billion in cash in October 2021. Now, Purolite is further investing in the Philadelphia region, revamping an existing two-story 106,000-square-foot facility at 380 Starr Road in Landenberg. The property was vacated in 2018 by manufacturer W.L. Gore and has been a "white elephant in the township" since, according to the Chester County Press.
Purolite bought the 12-acre site for $9.5 million in February, property records show.
The company plans to fit out the space with production facilities, cleanrooms, laboratories and new office space. The first phase of the project is expected to begin "in the very near future" and be operational in 2025, a company spokesperson said.
The facility will create the first U.S. operations of Purolite's Global Biologics Division. The company was founded 42 years ago and makes specialty resins used in pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and other industries. Its products include a type of resin beads that are used to separate elements and compounds in industries ranging from sugar refining to manufacturing of mRNA vaccines. At the time of its acquisition in 2021, the Purolite reported sales of around $400 million with operations in 30 countries.
The company said additional land on the Landenberg property, not far from the Delaware border, can be leveraged for future expansion
Purolite received a $1.037 million Pennsylvania First grant from the state's Department of Community and Economic Development for the project.
In 2019, Purolite moved its headquarters from Bala Cynwyd to 2201 Renaissance Blvd. in King of Prussia and also recently built out a $40 million, 74,000-square-foot manufacturing facility at 3700 Horizon Dr. nearby.
“Life sciences and manufacturing are two of our major industries, and we will continue to solidify our leadership in those areas by investing in more growing businesses like Purolite," Pennsylvania Department of Economic and Community Development Secretary Rick Siger said in a statement. "This homegrown company’s decision to anchor its U.S. Biologics Division here speaks volumes about what the Commonwealth can offer to businesses.”
The Landenberg site will be Purolite's sixth manufacturing facility internationally and its fourth location overall in Pennsylvania. Ecolab boasts sales of $14 billion annually and has a headcount of over 47,000 across some 170 countries.