New level in cleanroom production

More opportunities for the pharmaceutical industry and medical technology: Pöppelmann FAMAC® significantly expands cleanroom capacities and relies on fully automated processes. (Image: Pöppelmann)

Fully automatic, efficient, safe: Robots take over the removal and inspection of parts manufactured in the cleanroom at the packaging system. (Image: Pöppelmann)

More safety and efficiency for highly regulated industries: The plastics and packaging specialist Pöppelmann FAMAC® is investing heavily in expanding modern cleanroom technologies that make the production process even more efficient and safer. With increased capacities and the introduction of highly automated systems, the division of the Pöppelmann Group from Lohne offers new possibilities for manufacturing plastic products that meet the strict requirements of the pharmaceutical and medical technology sectors.

More space, higher capacity, new formats

The newly created cleanroom area of 222 m2 complements the existing 650 m2. State-of-the-art injection molding machines with clamping forces of up to 900 tons, along with an innovative machine concept featuring enclosed lubrication, ensure that even large-format pharmaceutical packaging can be produced under the highest cleanliness standards. The precise manufacturing in DIN EN ISO Class 7- and GMP-compliant rooms offers customers even greater product safety and reliability. The parts produced by injection molding are removed from the mold by robots, inspected by a camera, and then stacked. Driverless transport systems (FTS) autonomously and safely transfer them to the packaging machine.

Secure processes, seamless traceability

The commissioning of the new fully automatic packaging system was another milestone in Pöppelmann FAMAC®'s cleanroom manufacturing. During the packaging process, items are sealed in a cleanroom bag and fitted with an RFID label. It contains complete batch information and is digitally tracked and read at all subsequent process steps. Then, the product undergoes the mandatory double bagging before passing through the so-called "RFID gate." This ensures that no items with different batch information end up in the same box. This way, Pöppelmann FAMAC® achieves a significant increase in process security and simplified traceability – a real added value in strictly regulated production environments. In the future, customers will also be able to access RFID data during goods receipt to automate their own processes.

Product Carbon Footprint (PCF): Optimizing environmental balance

In light of the increasing importance of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) throughout the product lifecycle, Pöppelmann FAMAC® additionally supports customers from the pharmaceutical and medical technology industries in designing their products to be particularly environmentally and climate-friendly. As part of PÖPPELMANN blue®, the company's resource conservation and climate protection initiative, the plastics specialist analyzes the Product Carbon Footprint (PCF), i.e., the total amount of all greenhouse gas emissions within the "Cradle-to-Gate" scope, from raw material extraction to the Pöppelmann factory gate. Through non-binding consulting, further potentials for optimizing the PCF can then be identified together with the customer.

Next expansion step already initiated

The cleanroom offerings in Lohne are further strengthened by ongoing expansion: Currently, under the working title "HORIZON," the next expansion phase with an additional 500 m2 is underway. This will enable the future realization of multi-stage manufacturing processes with downstream assembly procedures under optimal cleanroom conditions. "We rely on forward-looking technology, even more capacity, and automated processes to create real added value for our customers through increased safety and efficiency," explains Michael Dultmeyer, Sales Manager Pharma-Medical. "The comprehensive digitalization of our processes and the planned expansion are proof that we are continuously working on optimizing our production processes."