To meet the increasing demand for packaging solutions for sterile goods, SÜDPACK Medica AG is investing in the expansion of its site in the Orne
region of France. At the groundbreaking ceremony for the plant in Coulmer on September 19, the company will lay an important foundation stone for the further consolidation of its status as a leading producer of pouch-making material under ISO 7 clean room conditions.
“The expansion of our production capacities will allow us to position ourselves even more strongly in the pharmaceutical sector in addition to the medical goods industry,” emphasizes Thomas Freis, Managing Director of SÜDPACK Medica. For more than 30 years, SÜDPACK Medica has been a proven partner to the healthcare industry. The company’s site in Coulmer primarily manufactures sterile barrier pouches, such as those used in packaging for implants. It also produces a wide range of reel material and lidding solutions made of film, Tyvek® and paper. In future, the plant will also focus on the production of header bags, especially for large-volume medical technology products that typically undergo ETO sterilisation. Typical applications range from syringe nests and pipette boxes to surgical kits, wound-care products and surgical textiles.
Consistent focus on customer and market requirements
In recent years, the company has invested in flow pack and 3-side-seal pouch machines to meet the increased demand for films and pouch-making material that can be used at various points in the value chain, including in the pharmaceutical industry. These products are an optimal packaging concept for products such as stoppers, filters or connectors. They are also ideal as simple media packaging and especially as transfer packaging.
Thomas Freis believes that these transport and process packaging solutions, which are used to transport products between cleanrooms or to the point of use, harbor enormous market potential for SÜDPACK Medica: “The glass bottles, ampoules or syringes required for administering liquid parenterals such as infusions must be completely sterile before filling. By almost doubling our ISO 7-compliant clean room production facility as a result of the plant expansion, we will be an even more efficient supplier to the market – with high quality standards and an uncompromising promise of quality.”
for what is currently the largest single project at SÜDPACK Medica. SÜDPACK Medica’s French site is certified to ISO 13485 (medical + diagnostic) and 15378 (primary packaging – GMP), making it the ideal choice for the production of sterile barrier systems for medical technology and diagnostic applications, as well as primary packaging for pharmaceuticals.
At the official groundbreaking ceremony, Carolin Grimbacher and Johannes Remmele, the shareholders of SÜDPACK, were joined by Erik Bouts, CEO of the SÜDPACK Group as well as Thomas Freis, Managing Director of SÜDPACK Medica AG and, last but not least, the head of the investment project, Frederic Covasso, and plant manager Samuel Wilquin. Chantal Nicoleau, the mayor of Coulmer, was enthusiastic about SÜDPACK’s investment, which is also linked to the creation of new jobs – sentiments echoed by Sébastien Gourdel, the chairman of the local “Vallées d’Auge et du Merlerault” municipal association, in his speech during the ceremony. Other guests who gladly accepted SÜDPACK Medica’s invitation included Agnès Laigre, vice president of the local “Vallées d’Auge et du Merlerault” municipal association, Jean Pierre Feret, member of the departmental council, as well as high-ranking representatives of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the contracted construction companies.
About SÜDPACK Medica AG
SÜDPACK Medica AG is headquartered in Baar (CH) and is one of the leading suppliers of sterile packaging solutions in Europe as well as a pioneering partner for the global medical, pharmaceutical and diagnostics industries. The company is part of the SÜDPACK company group and was founded in 1989. The core competency of SÜDPACK Medica is the development of plastic-based packaging solutions for sterile goods. The product and performance range of SÜDPACK Medica extends from standard solutions to tailor-made, customer-specific packaging concepts. It includes the production of coextruded flexible and rigid films, which are used as base and lidding films, and of pre-made pouch solutions for a wide variety of products. SÜDPACK Medica also benefits from the SÜDPACK Group’s long-standing leadership in technology and innovation in the coextrusion of polymer-based film solutions.
The production of SÜDPACK Medica products is performed at four sites in France, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands. These sites are equipped with the latest plant technology and manufacture to the highest standards of quality and hygiene, including the capacity to operate under clean room conditions.
For optimal support and collaboration with their customers around the world, SÜDPACK Medica relies on a specialist team working in quality, sales, development and application technology, one that has long-standing expertise in polymers and process engineering and in the market for sterile packaging. This makes SÜDPACK Medica a competent solutions partner for their customers when it comes to the implementation of packaging solutions, including those with the most demanding requirements.
SÜDPACK is committed to sustainable development and fulfills its responsibility as an employer and towards society, the environment and its customers. With its own site for processing biopolymers and its own compounding facilities, the SÜDPACK Group is also among the trailblazers in the production of forward-looking, sustainable and recyclable packaging concepts.
