Schott has completed an expansion at its pharmaceutical glass tubing site in Jinyun, China. The plant started its production in November 2020 after a 15 month ramp-up period. It was officially inaugurated with customers and government representatives in the summer of 2021 and supplies borosilicate glass tubing to produce containers for vaccines and other drugs.
"Right on schedule with our planning, we have doubled our melting capacity. It's another big milestone for pharma tubing in China. The expanded infrastructure will enable a reliable local supply of glass tubing, which is needed urgently to serve the increased demand for pharmaceutical packaging," said Dr Patrick Markschläger, Executive VP of Schott's Business Unit Tubing.
With this site, the company has established a production base for borosilicate glass tubing in Jinyun as a supply hub for the local Chinese market. The plant has created 250 jobs and enabled an improved supply chain, the company says, which will subsequently help enhance the packaging quality.
Dr. Markschläger said: "This new site marks the first time our company is melting glass in China. It's our commitment to help bring the government's vision of "Healthy China 2030" into reality." Schott has invested $70.6m in this Chinese tubing plant as part of a worldwide $1bn pharma business investment program.
The manufactured glass tubing Fiolax is a 5.0 Type I borosilicate glass supporting the strategy of the Chinese government to move away from the low borosilicate glass, the so-called 7.0 glass. Borosilicate glass is highly inert, the company says, protecting life-saving drugs and vaccines from unwanted drug-container interactions.
