Bukwang Pharmaceutical to Invest 24 Billion Won in Ansan Plant, Expanding Annual Production Capacity to 200 Million Tablets — BigGo Finance

South Korea’s Bukwang Pharmaceutical (003000.KS) is investing 24 billion won (approximately $17.4 million) to build an automated warehouse at its Ansan plant in Gyeonggi Province. The plan aims to triple pharmaceutical storage capacity and boost logistics efficiency to support additional annual production of 200 million tablets.

The company announced on the 27th that construction of the automated warehouse will commence this month, with completion and full-scale operation targeted for September 2027. Warehouse storage capacity will increase from the current 1,500 cells to 4,500 cells, and the building height will rise from 13 meters to 45 meters using a vertical high-rise design.

The new warehouse will be equipped with smart logistics infrastructure including racking systems, stacker cranes, a warehouse management system (WMS), and facilities compliant with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards. The system enables integrated management of inbound, storage, and outbound processes for finished pharmaceuticals and raw materials.

Following the introduction of the automation system, per-cell inbound/outbound processing time is expected to shrink from 10 minutes to 38 seconds, with operating personnel reduced by approximately 60%. Seven currently dispersed storage locations will also be consolidated into a single site. The company projects this will secure additional production capacity of 200 million tablets annually, representing approximately 26 billion won (approximately $18.8 million) in revenue.

The investment is seen as a measure to resolve saturation issues at the existing manual warehouse and proactively prepare for the company’s 2029 target of establishing a “1.2 billion-tablet annual production system.” Company officials explained that expanding the existing manual warehouse would only secure about half of the storage space needed by 2029, prompting the decision to construct a new automated warehouse.

A Bukwang Pharmaceutical representative emphasized, “Building on the automated warehouse, we will enhance productivity and workforce efficiency while strengthening regulatory compliance and pharmaceutical supply stability.”