Bausch+Ströbel celebrates its 40th anniversary
From ampoules to disposable syringes or vials - sterile filling of primary packaging has been Bausch + Ströbel's business for 40 years. Precision work, a spirit of invention and high manufacturing depth have made this Ilshofen firm today's world market leader in pre-filled syringe processing.
The success story started in a garage: Rolf Ströbel and Siegfried Bullinger designed an ampoule filling and closing machine for hair setting lotion. Because of the strong smell, the machine was tested out of doors. The tinkerers thus discovered that a higher filling rate was achievable at lower temperatures. The two men transformed this knowledge into a machine that marked the launch of the new business. The money to fund the start-up venture was borrowed from relatives, as the banks' confidence in the three founders (Wilhelm Bausch was already on board) probably wasn't all that great in those days.
That's not likely to be the case today, though: from an initial four employees Bausch + Ströbel has grown into an internationally operating group currently employing 790 people at its main facility in Ilshofen (and more than 830 people worldwide). There are other sites in the USA, France, Japan and Russia. Today, the company is a market leader in sterile filling and reports sales of around 100 million euros per year, 90 per cent of that on the export market.
GMP and FDA guidelines and legal regulations form the basis for the machines, most of which operate in a sterile processing environment. By linking individual modules and adding appropriate handling, transport and air conditioning systems in barrier and isolator technology, entire high-performance pharmaceutical production lines can be constructed to carry out complex tasks. Globally, some 10,500 machines in 800 different designs have been delivered for filling and packaging applications, mostly in the pharmaceutical industry.
Marking milestones
The company's success is due to several factors, one of which is the love of detail. It's not unusual for 40,000 to 50,000 hours' work to be spent on developing a new machine generation. The manufacturing depth is unusually high, and the result justifies those original tinkerers. And so it's not surprising that Bausch + Ströbel has marked a whole series of milestones in pharmaceutical filling and closing machines:
- 1967 Launch of the company's first ampoule filling and closing machine, the AFV 1000, which set new standards for the time at 2,500 ampoules per hour.
- 1972 brought the first continuous version, the AFV 4005, which worked on the rotary principle. Over 400 were sold and most of them are still in use.
- 1975 saw the first fully automatic (washing, filling and closing) line for disposable syringes.
- 1983 launched the first WDM weighing and dosing machine with complete documentation. The innovative feature was that every single container was dosed by weight and the operation could be documented.
- 1989 saw the development of a CIP/SIP dosing pump,
- 1992 marked entry into powder filling,
- 1996 Insulin filling using isolator technology,
- 1999 Presentation of the first laser sealing machines.
- 2006 was marked by a high-performance filling line for filling and sealing of 60,000 disposable syringes per hour, with in-process control.
2007 brought a change in ownership structure and the departure of the Bausch family. Since this reorganisation the course has once again been set for investment, with 40 new jobs created at the Ilshofen site. In view of achievements to date, the attitude towards the future is positive - the tinkerers from Schwäbisch Hall are not likely to run out of ideas!
