Exton-based West Pharmaceutical Services, the drug packaging manufacturer founded by Herman O. West in 1923, recently celebrated its centennial, writes Sarah Huffman for Technical.ly.

The company, which was originally located in Fishtown, started by manufacturing rubber plungers for dental cartridges.

“Penicillin was coming on the scene, insulin was coming on the scene, and so [West] really had the foresight and the entrepreneurship to be able to help develop what those medicines were contained in,” said West Pharmaceutical Services SVP and Chief Commercial Officer Cindy Reiss-Clark.

West Pharma’s best-known product is packaging for injectable drugs, including for vaccines and insulin. In its hundred years, the company has achieved many milestones, including its partnership with Eli Lilly during World War II to package penicillin, going public on the NYSE in 1970, and supporting the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine in 2020.

To mark its 100-year milestone, the company celebrated “WestFest,” which includes a green campaign with the Philadelphia Eagles. For every field goal the Birds score, West Pharma will plant 20 trees. The company also donated more than $200,000 to Herman O. West Foundation, which it started in 1971.

Read more about West Pharmaceutical Services celebrating its 100th anniversary in Technical.ly.

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