Member Article

Healthy growth for WH Partnership

North east company WH Partnership is in peak condition after starting work on a multi-million pound contract with Equateq Ltd, (since May 2012 BASF (Callanish) Ltd), a global leader in the manufacture of omega-3 fatty acids, used in health and nutrition supplements.

The specialist engineering and construction company, which operates in the pharmaceutical and personal care industries, is designing and building manufacturing facilities for Equateq on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland. The contract has created several new jobs at WHP’s specialist workshop in Gateshead, where most of the equipment is now being made and tested in a clean, controlled environment before being installed on site.

WHP has grown rapidly since it was established in The Watermark in 2006, and now employs more than 100 specialist and project staff across the UK, with agents in Asia and the Middle East. In 2009, it moved to a larger unit on the estate and has just opened a dedicated Technical Centre nearby, serving customers including Avon and Procter & Gamble. It recently completed the refurbishment of the Angel Biotechnology Holdings plant in Cramlington.

Nigel Hall, managing director, said: “The contract is a major milestone for us and will hopefully provide a springboard into other worldwide projects in the industry. We are on track for our most successful year so far and plan to recruit and train more technical staff in the region so we can continue to move forward.”

The BASF facility is the global leader in omega-3 fatty acids for the pharmaceutical industry. Adam Kelliher, managing director BASF Pharma (Callanish) and former owner of Equateq Ltd., said: “WHP has been a strong support on our road to manufacturing highly concentrated omega-3 fatty acids, and we have seen that they have extensive knowledge in both engineering and construction in a GMP environment. So we are very happy to partner with WHP as we now commence with a final scale up step to significant commercial volumes.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Deborah Anderson .