Expansions: Sanner to build facility in Kunshan to boost capacity by 80%; SI Group to expand resole resin capacity in US and India

German packaging firm Sanner is set for further growth in the Asian markets. Following rapidly increasing customer demands in this region, the company is now planning to build a second production site in Kunshan, China. Once it takes up operation, a production output rise of around 80% is expected.

Following the rapid increase of customer orders in Asia, the current production site of Sanner Pharmaceutical & Medical Packaging Materials (Kunshan) Co., Ltd. (Sanner of China) is reaching the upper limits of its capacities. Hence, the company decided to build a second production site near to the existing one in Kunshan. The land transaction process is expected to be completed in August, and construction will start in September 2021. The new production site will be put into operation before the end of next year.

The new site will feature additional 3,000 sq m of clean room production facilities. Moreover, the site will be equipped with a GMP warehouse, a mould assembly and maintenance workshop, all kinds of auxiliary equipment, as well as an office area.

“Our new Kunshan site will meet the most demanding customer requirements thanks to advanced production equipment with a high degree of automation. This will secure our existing high-tech status for the future,” says Ralf Tiemann, CEO Asia Pacific at Sanner.

Apart from more production space for the existing portfolio, the site will also provide additional capacities for R&D and production of Sanner’s new products, such as customised pharmaceutical primary packaging or intelligent medtech solutions.

Tiemann adds, “2020 was again a highly successful year for Sanner. With around EUR35 million of annual sales, China contributed significantly to the record sales result of the entire Sanner group.”

Based in Bensheim, Germany, Sanner GmbH was founded in 1894 and is now in its fourth generation as a family-owned enterprise. Sanner develops and produces plastic packaging and components for pharmaceutical, medtech, diagnostics and healthcare products. The world's leading manufacturer of desiccant closures and effervescent packaging solutions, Sanner produces 4 billion plastic parts each year for standard and customised packaging solutions. With almost 600 employees in Germany, China, France, Hungary, the U.S., India and Indonesia, the company generated annual sales of approx. EUR98 million in 2020.

Meanwhile, US additives company SI Group plans to increase resole resin production capacities at its facilities in Rotterdam Junction, New York, and Lote, India. The goal of this capacity expansion of more than 25% is to propel the sites to become two of the world’s leading resole production and technology locations.

The debottlenecking investments are slated for completion later this year. The expanded capacity will help address an increasing global demand for resole resins used in the automotive and adhesive value chain.

“These investments are a result of our focused efforts on growth and responding to our customers’ needs,” said Robert Kaiser, Vice President, Rubber & Adhesives Solutions at SI Group. “They will help provide superior solutions at the highest reliability of supply for our global customer base.”

SI Group has a long history of manufacturing resole resins used to enhance the durability and heat properties of rubber products. In adhesives systems, resole resins improve mechanical and heat resistance while providing higher initial adhesion, open time and weatherability.

In addition to resole resins, the company also has a robust rubber and adhesive portfolio of novolac tackifiers, antidegradants, bonding, and reinforcing resins manufactured globally. This expansion follows earlier announcements by SI Group to expand resin capacity in Lote, India; Bethune, France; and Nanjing, China.

(PRA)

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