1950s
1955: Ensign Laboratories is founded by John Thornborrow Senior, a chemical engineer who builds an aerosol filling line in a shed in Traralgon.
1958: Ensign Laboratories is officially incorporated.
1960s - 1990s
1969: Ensign relocates to a 30,000m² site in Melbourne southeast and constructs a purpose-built aerosol and liquids manufacturing factory.
1986: Growth follows with the construction of a dedicated therapeutics facility, supporting a strategic shift towards the therapeutic manufacture.
1992: Ensign’s product development focus shifts from aerosols to OTC liquids, including skin care formulations.
2000s
2006: Ensign purchases the adjoining Bayer facility, bringing total site coverage to 70,000m². Construction of a new R&D laboratory instability area is completed.
2008: Ensign bolsters its R&D and technical services team to support growing complexity within its product portfolio, as well as offer full support and technical product transfers.
2010s
2011: The closure of several pharmaceutical manufacturing sites sees multiple product ranges transferred to Ensign. Ensign moves to a three shift 24 hour operation to support the increased volume.
2016: Electronic job sheets, robotic, loaders and real time production monitoring software is rolled out, improving site-wide efficiency and productivity.
2018: Ensign continues to pursue robotic automation and digitisation of processes to improve quality and create value for our customers.
2020s
2023: Ensign achieves consolidation of GMP filling and formulating areas under one roof, with streamlined systems and processes to improve efficiencies and a new generation of senior leaders onboarded.
Today
Ensign employs over five hundred people and has become a global business manufacturing products that are distributed worldwide.
