International technology group SCHOTT today officially inaugurated a production site for primary pharmaceutical packaging located in Zavolzhe, near the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod. The new production site will employ around 60 employees initially and will produce premium quality ampoules and vials. SCHOTT plans to increase the number of employees up to over 200 in the mid-term.
“We are the first international group, which manufactures primary pharmaceutical packaging made of glass, to open a production facility in Russia. With this new plant, we are further expanding our position as the leading supplier to the pharmaceutical industry in Russia,” said Professor Dr. Udo Ungeheuer, chairman of the management board of SCHOTT, at the plant inauguration in Zavolzhe.
SCHOTT Pharmaceutical Systems is one of the world’s leading suppliers of glass tubing and primary packaging for the pharmaceutical industry. With its packaging expertise and quality commitment, SCHOTT will support Russian pharmaceutical companies in meeting the requirements of ‘Pharma 2020’. The company has been selling ampoules, vials, cartridges and syringes to the Russian market since the beginning of the 1990s. So far, Russian customers have been mainly supplied from the existing pharmaceutical packaging site in Hungary.
With new business operations in major growth markets such as China and Argentina, SCHOTT has continuously expanded its global network of pharmaceutical packaging production plants in recent years. Furthermore, SCHOTT has formed a joint venture with Japanese company Naigai Glass Industry at the end of 2010 in order to strengthen its position in Japan, the world’s second largest pharmaceutical market. With more than 600 production lines in 14 countries around the world, SCHOTT manufactures over seven billion syringes, vials, ampoules, cartridges, and special products for the pharmaceutical industry each year. All products are manufactured according to cGMP guidelines (current Good Manufacturing Practices) and meet the high international standards for primary pharmaceutical packaging.
“With our new facility in Zavolzhe, we are able to satisfy local demands even better than before,” said Dr. Juergen Sackhoff, executive vice president of SCHOTT Pharmaceutical Systems.
The new plant for primary pharmaceutical packaging is SCHOTT’s second production site in Russia. The company already runs a flat glass processing plant in Bor, near the city of Nizhny Novgorod, that supplies the household appliance industry. Furthermore, SCHOTT established a delegate office in Moscow, the Russian capital, in 1995.