Gerresheimer AG also expands production capability

A Peachtree City firm last week officially opened its new research and development center for medical plastic systems.

Gerresheimer AG, headquartered in Germany, now has complete product and process development for its specialized business in pharmaceuticals, diagnostics and medical technology. Previously such facilities were only available in Europe, company officials said.

The new technology center is directly linked to the production plant here in Peachtree City, formerly known as Wilden. Among the many products manufactured by Gerresheimer are pharmaceutical containers and inhalation systems.

The company has also elected to expand its production capabilities along with the addition of the R&D facility.

“Together this offers ideal conditions for further intensification of customer-specific project business in America,” said Dr. Axel Herberg, CEO of Gerresheimer AG.

In Peachtree City Gerresheimer manufactures not only complex inhaler systems for treatment of respiratory complaints but also, for example, cuvettes and reactive cards for microbiological tests. The company also manufactures products for diabetes, with skin-prick aids, lancets and insulin pen systems made of plastic and glass.

“Through the R & D Center in the USA we have fully established our individual system business in the American market,” commented Andreas Schütte, Member of the Gerresheimer Management Board and Head of the Plastic Systems Division, at the opening ceremony attended by numerous customers as well as guests from the worlds of business, science, politics and administration. All project-related international development functions were previously carried out by the Group’s Plastics Competence Center in Wackersdorf (Germany) on a worldwide basis.

“Expansion of these technical core competencies in the Peachtree location substantially reduces the critical time- to-market factor for customers,” said Schütte. As a full-service partner for medical plastic systems, Gerresheimer is one of the leading addresses in the pharma & life science industry worldwide.

Comprehensive customized development and realization through to market-ready products, including the production processes and related technical equipment are regarded in this sector as outstanding strengths of the highly innovative Group.

Because of the high level of demand in the American market, production in the southeast of the USA has now been expanded to cover a total manufacturing area of more than 2,100 square meters; of which clean rooms alone occupy more than 1,300 square meters.

The adjacent new R & D Center also allows for fundamental development. It has its own tool manufacturing facilities as well as analytical and technical-measurement laboratories, a production area for test products and quality management. Directly on the spot therefore it is possible to generate interdisciplinary synergies which were previously available only in teamwork with the German development center in Wackersdorf. In both locations, highly- qualified specialists are employed: plastic and production engineers, project managers and quality planners work jointly with process technologists, toolmakers and special-purpose plant engineers.

The concept of the R & D Center in Peachtree was consistently based on the German center, which was built in 2004 and from the start has proved to be an international success model. Both centers belong to the portfolio of the group subsidiary Gerresheimer Wilden, which concentrates on medical plastic systems with specialist plants in Europe, America and Asia.

Gerresheimer employs around 10,000 people in 40 locations in Europe, America and Asia. The product portfolio ranges from pharmaceutical vials made of glass and plastic through to complex drug- delivery systems for the pharma & life science industry. These include sterile syringes, inhalers and other system-based approaches for safe dosage and application of medications. The Group enjoys a leading position in markets which are characterized by high technical and regulatory barriers.