July 21 (UPI) — The Trump administration on Thursday announced it is pouring $500 million into the production of glass pharmaceutical packaging as part of the president’s “Made in America” week.
President Donald Trump met with representatives of Merck, Pfizer and Corning in the Roosevelt Room of the White House to announce the initiative. He said the investment would create nearly 1,000 jobs “quickly.”
“This initiative will bring a key industry to our shores that for too long has been dominated by foreign countries,” he said. “We’re moving more and more companies back into the United States, and they’re doing more and more of these products.”
The glass vials and cartridges are used to store and deliver injectable drugs.
The Trump administration plans to spread the funds across facilities in New York, New Jersey and a new manufacturing plant in a yet-to-be-disclosed location in the Southeast.
Corning CEO Wendell Weeks showed off the durability of the glass to be used with a vise-like contraption. He asked Trump to push down on a lever to break one of the vials, but he was unable to.
“The important thing is, that Valor Glass vial is still intact and protecting the vial ingredients inside,” Weeks said.
Also in attendance at the event were Merck CEO Ken Frazier and Pfizer CEO Ian Reed.
