Sandoz opens $47m packaging centre to support Polish manufacturing site
The 20,000m2 facility in Stryków, Poland - run by the generics maker Sandoz, a subsidiary of Swiss Pharma Giant Novartis – makes a broad range of finished dosage forms exported to almost 60 countries.
Now the site has opened a packaging centre at a cost of 171m PLN ($47m), adding eight packaging lines and a fully automated warehousing system to support production and to allow the packaging process to occur on site rather than at other Sandoz plants or through a third-party.
“This investment will greatly facilitate the manufacturing and packaging process, as we will be able to pack around four billion of manufactured tablets, without the need to send them to external packaging facilities,” said Ard van der Meij, President of the Board of Sandoz Poland.
The site manufacture - among other drugs - painkillers, anti-inflammatory medicines (ketoprofen), diabetes medicines (metformin, glimepiride), as well as medications for vascular hypertension including ramipril and torasemide.
The additional facility adds around 130 new jobs to the current workforce of 450 in Stryków, and is a boost to Sandoz’ commitment to Poland.
“Poland plays a vital role in our company’s growth strategy,” van der Meij added.
“This investment will increase the capacity of the plant and, simultaneously, reduce costs. Our decision to expand the Stryków site was motivated by two key considerations: the excellent location of the site, right at the heart of Europe, and the accessibility to highly qualified personnel.”
