Originally Published EMDM
May 2003
INDUSTRY NEWS
Danish Company Ramps Up Production of PVC-Replacement Compounds |
A new 3000-sq-m facility devoted to the production of thermoplastic olefins and TPE compounds for medical device and pharmaceutical packaging is scheduled to be in operation as early as August. Melitek (Hellerup, Denmark) broke ground on the plant in January 2003 and will begin installing equipment and qualifying the production line in early June. Described as one of industry’s most technically advanced medical compounding plants, the facility will have an annual production of 10,000 to 12,000 t, increasing the company’s current capacity by as much as 30%, according to marketing manager Jesper
Laursen.
The new plant is located in proximity to the Medicon Valley area, a cross-border region with a heavy concentration of medical device and pharmaceutical companies along the Danish and Swedish sides of the Oresund strait. The plant contains a controlled environment and is devoted exclusively to the development and processing of medical-grade materials, stresses Laursen. The company’s polyolefin alloys, marketed under the meliflex name, are “cost-competitive with flexible PVC, easy to process, solvent bondable, and achieve a number of other desirable properties without the use of plasticizers,” he says.
Meliflex XF materials for medical film and packaging applications offer flexibility and softness, chemical resistance, impact strength, and clarity. They can withstand steam sterilization at 121°C and are heat sealable. The company also offers a soft, flexible XT grade for medical tubing that is EtO and gamma sterilizable. Other technical benefits include low density and kink resistance. All of the materials comply with USP Class VI guidelines and contain only additives approved for use by the fourth edition of the European Pharmacopoeia.
Laursen anticipates steady growth in demand for meliflex materials, as more and more companies shy away from the use of DEHP-containing polymers. Indeed, Melitek is determined to stay ahead of the curve, and has acquired an additional 16,000 sq m of land next to the new facility to meet future expansion needs.
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