At Pack Expo, groninger to Highlight Filling and Closing Unit Series for OTC Pharma and Diagnostics Products

groninger, a leading manufacturer of filling and closing machines for the global pharmaceutical, consumer healthcare and cosmetics industries, will debut a flexible filling and closing line for medium- to high-volume OTC pharma and diagnostics products requiring hygienic processing at Pack Expo 2024, November 3-6 in Chicago. At Booth W-17023, the company will be highlighting the flexcare 101, developed to meet the heightened sterility requirements of cleanroom class products such as eye drops and nasal sprays.

Capable of processing up to 120 glass or plastic bottles per minute, groninger’s GMP-compliant flexcare 101 ensures hygienic, low-particle conditions throughout the filling and capping process. The machine also stands out for its versatility, and a moving filling needle supports increased output. Other attributes include continuous welds on the sorting bowls for enhanced cleanability, pharma-grade design materials for consistent hygiene, and inspection stations that ensure all packaging components have been properly applied.

The flexcare 101 also is notable for its ergonomics. The module’s hinged outflow openings offer efficient operator access, and integrated IoT features such as energy monitoring, process capability and overall equipment efficiency (OEE) are clearly laid out on an intuitive HMI dashboard.

“Considering their high-value products, our customers are increasingly requesting GMP-compliant machines that are ergonomic, easy to clean and flexible – all without compromising precision and high throughput,” said Otto Helmle, Vice President of Sales for the groninger Consumer Healthcare & Cosmetics division. “The flexcare 101 meets and exceeds these requirements, testament to our decades of experience designing and manufacturing high- performance, pharma-grade processing and packaging equipment.” Other models are available in the flexcare series for higher speeds.

Another series standout that will be on display with live demonstrations at Pack Expo 2024 is the flexcare 10, a small-footprint unit that can fill and close up to 70 non-sterile glass or plastic bottles per minute. Multifunctional for increased versatility and expedited ROI, the module offers a GMP-friendly design and 100% in-process checkweighing, as well as options for gassing either before or after filling, and optional dropper and spray pump insertion capabilities. The flexcare 10 can fill via rotary piston or peristaltic pumps, and handle products with up to two closing components. Standard servo motor-driven pre- and post-torquing ensures precise torque control of caps.

Filling and closing machine for ready-to-use syringes, vials and cartridges
Also at Pack Expo, groninger will highlight its latest machine for filling and closing ready-to-use syringes, vials and cartridges. Suitable for medium-sized batch production, the company’s flexfill provides a standardized, easily qualified and validated manufacturing solution that makes switching between container types and sizes simple and fast. Notably, flexfill does not sacrifice flexibility for speed: the module can handle up to 200 products per minute.

flexfill’s modular concept ensures that 80% of configurations are predefined, enabling expedited deployment and line integration. The machine is essentially a “3-in-1” solution, with groninger’s combifill technology enabling nested syringes, vials and cartridges to be processed on the same platform by changing only container-specific format parts. groninger’s smartfill technology minimizes product loss, and a no-touch-transfer setup assures aseptic handling of all pre-sterilized primary packaging. All totaled, flexfill’s multifunctionality and speed-to-market makes it a highly attractive processing solution for both pharma companies and contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs).