Short changeover times, reliable processes and flexibility are essential for pharmaceutical manufacturer and contract packer Remedica. The company processes several hundred products, different batch sizes and has to respond to changing requirements. For the packaging of solid pharmaceutical products, Romaco blister machines and cartoners are used, which fulfil the requirements for primary and secondary packaging.
As the largest pharmaceutical company in Cyprus, Remedica develops, produces and markets a wide range of products, including drugs for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases and applications for cancer therapy, Remedica's speciality. The pharmaceutical manufacturer faces a ecologically and socially responsible corporate governance and has already received numerous awards for its sustainability initiatives.
Remedica's current product portfolio consists of more than 300 generics, branded generics and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines, which are manufactured in a variety of dosage forms such as tablets, capsules, oblongs, gels, creams, ointments, suppositories or topical aerosols. Remedica also operates on the market as a contract packers and processes very different and sometimes very small batch sizes - for solid products up to a minimum of 500 packs.
(Image: Remedica)
In view of this wide range of products and the different batch sizes, Remedica's day-to-day production is all about Flexibility, reliable processes and high system availability to. This is particularly true with regard to the format parts used, as the company's blister machines are changed on average every one and a half to two days.
For the primary packaging of tablets, capsules and oblongs in blister packs and secondary packaging in folding cartons, Remedica has been relying on technologies from Romaco. The pharmaceutical manufacturer currently has eleven Romaco Noack 921 rotary sealing machines in operation. Eight of these blister machines are used as Modules in fully automated lines with cartoning machines from Romaco Promatic, three of the blister machines are used as stand-alone units. This technological standardisation in the packaging of solid dose products brings numerous advantages for Remedica in day-to-day production - especially in small batch production.
„In contract packaging, the trend is towards ever smaller batch sizes. Against this backdrop, using several machines of the same type allows us to plan production much more flexibly, as this means that the same format parts can be used on all of our rotary sealers. At the same time, standardised solutions simplify the work for the operating personnel and thus minimise our training costs.“
Dimitar Vasilev, Production Engineer at Remedica
At Romaco, all parts of a format set, such as feed formats, deflection rollers or sealing, coding, perforating and punching tools, are tested with the respective customer product and the corresponding packaging material on dedicated machines before delivery to the customer.
„Since the start of our collaboration with Romaco, we have continuously expanded our stock of format sets. We currently have more than 50 format sets and are constantly in close contact with Romaco's PacTech format centre. We can rely on Romaco to ensure that the format parts fit exactly and that production can continue seamlessly after a format change. Another positive aspect is the low weight of the individual components. Each format part can be lifted and assembled by a single person.”
Dimitar Vasilev
Blister machines and cartoners from Romaco are characterised by their ergonomic design and easy access to all components from. The format sets follow the plug-and-play principle of error-proof assembly. In recent years, Romaco has systematically reduced the number of format parts in its machines and thus also the Changeover times are becoming ever shorter. Romaco Noack's blister lines enable reproducible, tool-free format changeovers in less than 30 minutes. The machines' hygienic design also ensures short downtimes and optimised system availability, as the smooth surfaces and rounded corners and edges make Romaco Noack and Promatic blister machines and cartoners quick and easy to clean.
Customised line layout and compact design
At Remedica's production site in Limassol, Cyprus, the blister machines and cartoning machines, which are designed as a line, are arranged in a so-called Z layout. In this configuration, Romaco has orientated itself entirely to Remedica's requirements. The blisters are discharged to the front and the cartoner is positioned laterally offset in front of the blister machine. This individual line layout and the compact design of the machines used, Romaco was able to Minimise overall space requirements and optimise the blister lines to the spatial conditions.
(Image: Romaco)
The products can be fed into Romaco Noack blister machines using different systems. Remedica uses a dedicated feeder for aluminium-aluminium blisters and a universal feeder with a coating device for the production of PVC blisters. The pharmaceutical manufacturer is currently planning to expand its production capacity and will also be using a plate sealing machine for the first time - the Romaco Noack 623, which will be used in a Output of up to 480 blisters per minute can process all common mouldable and sealable films and achieves a drawing depth of up to 25 mm.
„The addition of a blister machine with plate sealing technology to our production capacities, which were previously based on roller sealing technology, allows us to organise our production even more flexibly and optimally meet market demand, as we can also process very large or thick tablets and oblongs with the Romaco Noack 623. In addition to the technical aspects, we were also convinced by Romaco's commitment to take back the machines free of charge at the end of their service life in the interests of the circular economy.“
Dimitar Vasilev, Production Engineer at Remedica
Source: Romaco
