Sartorius, a German life sciences company with 170 years of history, announced Thursday it will invest $100 million in South Korea’s bio cluster of Songdo in Incheon to build a manufacturing facility for biologics plant parts.

Sartorius’ decision is largely attributable to Korean bio companies: Samsung Biologics and Celltrion.

Samsung Biologics and Celltrion have been Sartorius’ clients for a number of years, and their growing roles in the bio industry were a factor Sartorius considered in making new Asian regional investments, Sartorius Korea said.

As a city adjacent to the nation’s largest international airport, Songdo has tariff benefits as part of the Incheon Free Economic Zone. Songdo is also home to a growing number of biologics companies.

The German partner’s presence in Songdo will add to the city’s image as an emerging Asia hub for bio industry, a Celltrion official told The Korea Herald.

Both Celltrion and Samsung Biologics had agreed to collaborate with the Incheon government in promoting localization of plant parts suppliers.

Having the German supplier expand presence is ironically beneficial to the Korean industry in both roundabout and direct ways, the Celltrion official said, as it generates local employment and gives Korean suppliers the time they need to catch up to global standards.

Sartorius’ investment will materialize as a manufacturing plant for single-use bags, cell culture media and filters, among other things.

On Nov. 4, Sartorius submitted an investment blueprint to the IFEZ office and the local government of Songdo declaring it will purchase a plot of 24,300 square meters. The company aims to complete construction within 2022.

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)