Nelipak Expands Healthcare Packaging Operations in Costa Rica with New $60M Manufacturing Facility
Key Insights
Nelipak Corporation (search) has broken ground on a new 60,000 square-foot healthcare packaging facility in Costa Rica, scheduled to open by mid-2026.
The ISO 13485 certified facility will feature ISO-7 cleanroom manufacturing space for sterile-barrier packaging production serving medical device and pharmaceutical markets.
The expansion strengthens Costa Rica's position as a medical device manufacturing hub and enhances Nelipak's capacity to serve Latin America and Caribbean customers.
Nelipak Corporation (search), a leading global provider of healthcare packaging solutions, has officially broken ground on a new state-of-the-art production facility in Costa Rica Green Valley in Grecia, Alajuela. The 60,000 square-foot Class-A industrial facility represents a significant investment in the company's Latin American operations and is scheduled to open by mid-2026.
Strategic Expansion in Growing Medical Device Hub
The new facility will significantly expand Nelipak's regional capacity and capabilities to support the growing medical device manufacturing ecosystem in Costa Rica and throughout the Caribbean and Central America region. Nelipak has operated in Costa Rica since 2012, following its acquisition of ATE, providing thermoformed trays, die-cut mounting cards, and other custom packaging products to leading medical device manufacturers.
"We are excited to announce another major investment in our global operating footprint in order to support customers on a global, regional, and local basis," said Pat Chambliss, CEO of Nelipak. "Costa Rica is a significant and growing hub for medical device manufacturing and this investment demonstrates our commitment to serve customers in the region with world-class local production."
Advanced Manufacturing Capabilities
The facility will be ISO 13485 certified and include ISO-7 cleanroom manufacturing space designed to meet the highest standards of quality and safety for sterile-barrier healthcare packaging. Production capabilities at the site will include thin-gauge thermoforming for medical device trays and blisters, heavy-gauge thermoforming for deep draw tubs and trays, and die-cut pouch cards and inserts.
The site will also offer expanded warehousing space to support local warehousing and distribution of Nelipak's comprehensive line of flexible healthcare packaging products, with provisions for future building expansion to meet capacity and capability requirements as customer needs evolve.
Government and Industry Support
The facility is being built in collaboration with Portafolio Inmobiliario (search), a leading real estate developer in Costa Rica, and is tailored to Nelipak's operational and sustainability requirements. The project has received strong support from Costa Rican government officials.
"The expansion of Nelipak in Costa Rica contributes to strengthening our value chain and consolidating the country as a hub for the manufacturing of medical devices and other high value-added industries," said Laura López, CEO of the Trade and Investment Promotion Agency of Costa Rica (PROCOMER (search)). "According to the latest Free Trade Zone Report, local purchases in the country reached US$5.621 billion, which demonstrates how these investments boost our exports while energizing Costa Rica's productive ecosystem."
Manuel Tovar, Minister of Foreign Trade, emphasized the strategic importance of the investment: "This expansion reaffirms the company's confidence in Costa Rica as a strategic platform for its specialized packaging solutions in the life sciences sector. With this investment, the value chain of key sectors such as medical devices and the pharmaceutical industry is strengthened, consolidating Costa Rica as a reliable partner for the production of high-value solutions."
Global Healthcare Supply Chain Impact
This expansion further positions Costa Rica as a premier hub for medical device manufacturing and reinforces Nelipak's role as a trusted packaging partner in the global healthcare supply chain. With 1,400 employees and 11 sites globally, including 6 sites in North America and 5 sites in Europe, Nelipak serves medical device, diagnostic, pharmaceutical drug delivery, and other demanding applications worldwide.
The groundbreaking ceremony marks a major milestone in Nelipak's continued investment in Costa Rica and reflects the company's strategy to provide global excellence with strong local support for customers in Latin America and the Caribbean region.