A winning partnership

Sanner develops and manufactures a wide range of packaging, with particular emphasis on the  pharmaceutical and medical technology sectors. The company's core competence lies in plastic injection moulding and the manufacture of closures with integrated desiccants. The company has three factories located in Germany, Hungary and China that operate within high standards and offer its customers standardised, certified quality, clean room production and high levels of service. 

The company’s close cooperation with Sumitomo (SHI) Demag has been the topic of discussion when International Plastics News for Asia  (IRNA) talked to Ralf Tiemann, Vice President Asia of Sanner Pharmaceutical  &  Medical  Packaging Materials (Kunshan) Co., Ltd.

IRNA: What do you understand by "Made in Germany"?

Mr. Tiemann: For us, it means that every Sanner factory, regardless of location, never compromises on quality and service. Our products are all of uniformly high quality and the technical standards we apply are the same everywhere in the world, so our customers know our products are always identical, regardless of where they are made.

IRNA: In what way does Demag help you to achieve this "Made in Germany" standard?

Mr. Tiemann: Sumitomo (SHI) Demag specialises in injection moulding machines for polymer processing. It has a global development and production network, with four plants in Japan, Germany and China. Demag helps us because the company is guided by the same principles. The machines that are made in China allow us to produce exactly the same quality products in Kunshan (Shanghai) as the ones we manufacture in Bensheim or Budapest. Top-quality service is also important for us, as it allows us to continue production without any downtime.

IRNA: Which countries are you currently manufacturing in, and why did you choose these locations in particular?

Mr. Tiemann: Our headquarters are in Bensheim,  Germany, and this has traditionally been where we've done the bulk of our manufacturing. It's also where our product development and innovation management divisions are located. Our factory in Asia is important, as we recognised back in 2000 that this was going to be an enormous growth market, while Hungary is the mainstay of our Eastern European operations.

We've been manufacturing in China since  2000.  There are international standards (ISO) for clean room production and we have applied these standards in China. We also have to comply with certain additional guidelines from the local SFDA authorities. We made no compromises when we were setting up the clean rooms and if we couldn't find the right quality components locally we imported them.

IRNA: Are you likely to expand your manufacturing into other important markets? 

Mr. Tiemann: At the moment we're in the process of upgrading our facilities in Germany and China. In Germany, the focus is on improving energy efficiency, while in China we are looking to double our production capacity. Both of these projects should be completed in 2013 and we're already working on more ways of expanding and consolidating our position as market leaders in Asia once they're finished. 

IRNA: Who are your customers and how do you support them with product development?

Mr. Tiemann: Our customers are pharmaceutical companies and those in the healthcare andNike Air Jordan 11Lab4 Retro 4 Patent Leather