Indian Pharma Supplier Plans $200M Capsule Factory in Atlanta

An India-based pharmaceutical machinery firm selling in the U.S. for 25 years has chosen metro Atlanta for a $200 million bet on American manufacturing. 

ACG, headquartered in Mumbai with sales in 138 countries, plans to hire 200 people as it introduces a new factory in Conyers making capsules used in drugs and supplements. 

The Georgia facility, located at the border of Newton and Rockdale counties, will make the outer shells for pills out of both gelatin and a plant-derived material known as HPMC, or hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, which has seen growing demand from vegetarians and in certain medications. 

The investment will play out in two equal phases, with an initial $100 million going toward setting up the empty-capsule plant, with production slated to begin in 2027.  

“This facility strengthens our ties with customers across the region—bringing us closer to them, enabling faster lead times, higher-quality service, and a more resilient, de-risked supply chain. Just as importantly, it lets us respond more quickly and co-develop new innovations through tighter R&D partnerships. It’s been a long time coming, and we’re glad to say it’s here,” said Karan Singh, managing director at ACG, in a news release.

ACG, founded in 1961 by brothers Ajit and Jasjit Singh as Associated Capsule Group, now serves pharmaceutical and nutraceutical makers with solutions that “touch almost every aspect of oral dosage manufacturing,” from the capsules themselves to packaging materials and machines for granulation, filling and weighing. ACG’s first automated capsule plant facility started up in 1973; now it has some 15 production bases in Brazil, Croatia, Thailand and beyond.

The move comes as the U.S. and India are embroiled in a trade tiff, with President Donald Trump imposing 50 percent tariffs on Indian goods in an attempt to strong-arm the Indian government into restricting Russian oil purchases. Ostensibly, the measure is designed to increase pressure on Russia to end its war in Ukraine.

India, which maintains a long-standing security and economic partnership with Russia, has resisted the efforts as an affront to the country’s sovereignty, while noting that the measure is not being applied evenly to other countries buying Russian crude. 

The Trump administration has also telegraphed further tariffs on drugs and recently announced TrumpRx, a government-run website aimed at helping consumers find the lowest-cost source for prescription medications, starting in 2026.

Using tariffs, FDA reviews and other leverage, the site aims to force preferential deals with drug companies, in some cases predicated on their bringing more production and research and development operations into the U.S.

Company executives said that the move was a “long time in coming” and that it strengthens the entire ACG ecosystem in the U.S.

A spokesperson confirmed with Global Atlanta that U.S. expansion was part of a larger global initiative and was planned long before the threat of tariffs.

“The U.S. has always been a critical component of our global expansion roadmap, not only to enhance support for our American customers but also to establish a strategic hub for North and Central America,” Rafael Costa, AGC Capsules’ vice president of sales and business development for the Americas, told Global Atlanta in an email.

The company’s U.S. headquarters is in New Jersey, and it operates a liquid fill capsule plant in Chadds Ford, Pa., under ACG’s Vantage Nutrition subsidiary, which itself has made acquisitions in South Africa and Brazil.