Successful collaboration for pure media generation

With the installation of a new purified water (PW) generator, the Syntegon subsidiary Pharmatec and Vetter not only advanced the site expansion in Langenargen; they also laid the foundation for an extended partnership.

With over 75 years of experience, Vetter Pharma-Fertigung GmbH & Co KG is a leading global Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) for injectable APIs. The company is experiencing long-term growth and a steady increase in demand. To meet this demand, Vetter has been investing in the expansion of its portfolio and sites for years. One of them is Langenargen in Germany, where Vetter has been filling liquid and lyophilized products into vials and syringes since 1998.

The highest quality standards

The facility currently has four filling lines, two more will be added in the future. This requires meeting certain conditions. For example, a sufficient supply of pure media such as water or steam for feeding and cleaning the lines is essential. Until recently, two generators produced purified water (PW) by reverse osmosis in Langenargen. Whenever the larger of the two units was out of operation for sanitization purposes, the smaller one was no longer able to meet the demand.

To secure production capacity and prepare for an increase in the future, Vetter needed another PW generator. Here, the company’s high quality standards played an important role – and lead to a very specific requirement for the project in Langenargen: Vetter was looking for a solution that could produce PW in WFI quality.

Made to measure

Dietmar Waizmann, Head of System & Service Media in Langenargen, has been with Vetter for over 30 years. He was well aware of the requirements for PW production at the site – and began a careful selection process. After the first meeting, Waizmann was already convinced that Pharmatec was the right partner. The decisive factors were not only the likeable manner and technical proficiency of the experts, but also their flexibility and willingness to respond individually to the special conditions on site.

Nick Eilenberger, Engineer Process Design and Project Manager at Pharmatec, recalls: “The available floor space was actually too small. But if it’s necessary, we are happy to deviate from the standard.” The available space and the existing connection options were measured precisely, and a custom-made unit was designed. The team also found a flexible solution for the limited space available during installation on site.

A partnership built to last

Once installed, commissioning and qualification of the new system went smoothly. “This was not the only time we received excellent support from Pharmatec,” Dietmar Waizmann reports. “I was really impressed by their good availability, flexibility, and productive and friendly cooperation. The chemistry was just right.”

In fact, the successful project in Langenargen laid the foundation for further cooperation between Vetter and Pharmatec. Two more PW generators and softeners have already been installed at the Vetter site in Ravensburg, followed by two PW generators with integrated softening, a distillation unit for WFI generation, and a pure steam generator in Rankweil, Austria. Dietmar Waizmann is convinced: “Pharmatec is the right partner for us to continue our growth journey and shape the pharmaceutical industry of the future together.”