Aenova, a CDMO, is installing more modern and efficient equipment at its Carugate site in Italy. The investment of around €10 million will enable four major projects to be implemented: a new filling line for non-sterile liquids, a more efficient turbo-emulsifier, a more complex filling line for cosmetics, and a larger warehouse.

The Carugate site, which has 145 employees, has been producing and packaging semi-solids for pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and cosmetics, as well as non-sterile liquids, since 1994. The new filling line for non-sterile liquids will increase capacity to more than 10 million units per year. The line also enables the filling of bottles with variable dosages from 10 ml to 350 ml and different types of closures (screw or crimp of metal and plastic cap, spray, dropper).

The new turbo-emulsifier means that the facility can now manufacture batch sizes ranging from 300 liters to 5,000 liters. In addition to the increase in production, it will also be possible to produce other types of products, such as flammable liquids, as the area is ATEX rated.

In the cosmetics sector, the current filling line will be replaced by a new modern high-speed line that can fill a wider variety of tubes of special sizes and shapes, including those with cannulas.

The newly built warehouse next to the plant increases capacity by almost 3,000 pallet spaces, providing more than sufficient in-house GMP storage to meet growing demand.

“With the implementation of these four projects, we will effectively have a completely new plant with more modern and more efficient equipment by the end of 2023,” said Marco Falzolgher, managing eirector of the Aenova site in Carugate. “This will not only enhance our capabilities, but also our position within the marketplace as a “Centre of Excellence for semi-solid and non-sterile liquid manufacturing. Not only will we be able to better respond to market needs and customer requests, but we will also be able to expand our service offering to reliably provide products to patients and consumers around the world.”

The capacity expansions are expected to be completed by the end of 2023.