Welsh MEP, Dr Kay Swinburne, has visited Tredegar employer Penn Pharma with Blaenau Gwent Conservative Party candidate, Liz Stevenson, to discuss with the team what policies are needed to help the highly successful local company grow and create more jobs in the area.

Kay and Liz met with Mark Molyneux, Acting CEO/ Chairman of Penn Pharma, Paul Thomas, Chief Scientific Officer, Lee Mainwaring, Finance Director, John Roberts Commercial Director and Joanne McCafferty, Human Resources Director at their offices on the Tafarnaubach Industrial Estate in Tredegar.

Following the meeting they were given a tour of the Penn Pharma site, which provides over 250 local jobs by Production Manager, Steve Evans.

Speaking after the visit, the Welsh MEP said ‘Tredegar’s Penn Pharma are a cutting edge, high tech business providing world leading services to some of the biggest household names in the industry. Their business is global in reach and they have ambitious expansion plans. Winning big international contracts is key to this.

‘South Wales has a thriving and diverse pharmaceuticals industry which provides many local jobs and draws investment into the area. I have agreed with the Penn Pharma management that I will bring all these companies together at South Wales’s first ever High Tech Pharma Industry Summit to discuss how we can create a powerful cluster here in the Valleys. By pooling together the expertise of South Wales’s Pharma community we will be able to show case our products and services internationally with one strong voice.

Liz Stevenson, Conservative candidate for Blaenau Gwent said ‘Employers like Penn Pharma are key to the future of our community. We need them to thrive and grow so that they can create more jobs. We also need to draw more companies like Penn to Blaenau Gwent so we should build on our strengths and seek to build a cluster of similar businesses in the area. I am looking forward to working with Penn Pharma and Kay to deliver this important Industry Summit.’