Univar expands filling capabilities for pharma and food

Univar, a leading European distributor of chemicals and ingredients, is expanding its filling capabilities for pharmaceutical and food products by replacing dedicated tank trucks with Univar-branded swap bodies (31,000 litre ISO tanks). This move, combined with Univar's state-of-the-art white room, allows the company to offer its customers a one-stop-shop for sourcing, transport, filling and other handling requirements.

The white room facility is a state-of-the-art pharmaceutical filling installation, located in Rotterdam in the Netherlands and built by LBC tank terminals. The company says the facility complies with all IPEC GMP/GDP standards, making it perfect for filling capabilities - especially for products such as pharma grade liquid chemicals, which are used as active pharmaceutical ingredients.

Univar has already been using dedicated transport, such as bulk tank trucks, and will now lease two ISO swap bodies, which will offer additional advantages to customers.

The truck, when loaded, is sealed by the supplier; the seals are checked by SGS, an independent surveyor, and only broken when the filling operation starts. When empty, the truck is sealed again and these seals broken only at the supplier's loading station. Hence, at each step of the supply chain traceability, quality control and product stewardship are closely monitored.

'Our extensive market research has shown that there is a great potential in the food and pharma markets, which is why Univar has decided to further expand its capabilities in these industries. We are already extremely well equipped for filling and handling of liquid pharma products thanks to our white room. By now offering dedicated transport, we are able to help our customers or suppliers optimise their supply chain in these specific markets,' said Henri-Marc Perrin, supplier director, Pharma & Household, EMEA, Univar Europe.