Vetter: a multi-million-euro investment for new CDMO facility boost for Saarland/Germany

“Great things always start small” is the Saarland state motto, one of the smallest federal states of Germany – and rarely has the phrase fitted an investment announcement as neatly as this one from Saarlouis. By planning one of the largest single investments in its corporate history, pharmaceutical services provider Vetter Pharma is sending a strong signal well beyond the region’s borders.

The family-owned company from Ravensburg intends to invest around €480 million initially in building a state-of-the-art production facility. Construction is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2026, with manufacturing of injectable medicines planned to start in 2031. In the long term, the new site could create up to 2,000 jobs. Vetter acquired the roughly 40-hectare industrial site in Saarlouis at the end of 2024. The European Union has approved state aid of up to €47 million – around 10 per cent of what Vetter describes as the “initial” investment volume.

A transformation rich in symbolism

What stands out is not only the size of the investment, but also its symbolic value. Saarlouis is emblematic of structural change: where Ford vehicles rolled off the production line for decades, injectable medicines for patients around the world are set to be manufactured in future. The shift from traditional industry to healthcare marks a clear turning point and opens up new prospects for the region.

According to sources close to the company, Vetter itself attaches less importance to this symbolism than local policymakers do. The decision, the company says, is based on long-term strategic considerations and convincing location factors. Vetter is focusing its growth strategy on Europe and the United States and has explicitly reaffirmed its commitment to Germany as a business location. “Long-term success is achieved through the right balance between stability and targeted expansion,” emphasises Senator h.c. Udo J. Vetter, Chairman of the Advisory Board. At the same time, he underlines the company’s confidence in Saarland and the family firm’s long-term commitment to the global pharmaceutical market.

Syringes instead of sheet metal

The Saarland state government also sees the move as a milestone. Minister-President Anke Rehlinger describes it as a strong signal for the future, while Economics Minister Jürgen Barke points to the targeted diversification of the regional economy. New jobs in a growing market, the argument goes, strengthen Saarland’s structural transition and enhance its appeal as an innovation hub.

For more than 75 years, Vetter has stood for quality and precision in pharmaceutical manufacturing. Through investments running into the hundreds of millions, the former Ravensburg pharmacy has grown into a defining employer for the medieval trading town on the River Schussen. The new plant in Saarlouis will significantly expand the company’s capacity – and could become similarly formative for Saarland, with its population of around one million. Vetter Pharma thus also demonstrates that major industrial projects of the future do not necessarily require metropolitan centres. Sometimes, a small federal state is enough for something truly big to emerge.