[Translate to English:] Die F30i ist der leistungsstarke Doppelrundläufer der neuen i Serie von Fette Compacting.
Servier is the second largest pharmaceutical company in France. In subsidiaries in 150 countries, the company employs 21,800 people worldwide. In 2021, the Servier Group, which is governed by a foundation, generated revenues of about 4.7 billion euros. The group invests more than 20 percent of its pharmaceutical revenues in research and development, working closely with academic partners, pharmaceutical companies, and biotech firms. This commitment is in line with the company’s mission, which is dedicated to therapeutic progress and the needs of patients.
As a leading company in cardiology, Servier aims to become a renowned and innovative player in oncology as well. The group‘s continued growth is based on sustained research in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, oncology, neuroscience, and immuno-inflammatory diseases. To promote access to healthcare for all, the Servier Group also offers a range of quality generic drugs covering most pathologies.
For tablet production, Servier relies on the innovative technology of Fette Compacting. Starting at the end of 2022, the company will use the F30i tablet press at its production facility in Gidy, France. The machine will produce Daflon, which is used to treat vascular diseases. That makes Servier one of the first companies in the world to use an F30i from Fette Compacting.
Old meets new
The F30i is a high-performance double rotary tablet press developed by Fette Compacting as part of its new i Series and presented to the public for the first time in 2021. It is designed for the production of large batches and enables an output of up to 1.6 million tablets per hour, which makes it particularly suitable for the production of best-selling drugs such as Daflon.
Like its sister machines F10i and F20i, the F30i is optimized for operator protection as standard. Even the standard variant is consistently dust-tight. Additional safety is provided by the fully-automated tableting process.
One feature that those responsible at Servier are particularly enthusiastic about is the cross-generational system compatibility displayed by the F30i. All process-related assemblies are the same or similar to those of the earlier machine models from the classic i Series. This is of particular advantage when companies use other tablet presses from Fette Compacting.
“There are currently nine Fette Compacting machines in service in our Gidy plant,” reports Cédric Papon, Project Manager at Servier. “In the future, the F30i will work side by side with the 3090i machine and two FE55 tablet presses. Small modifications are already enough to transfer the die and segment rotors from the older machine to the F30i. The similarity of the components has made qualification and validation much easier for us and also saves time and money in daily use.”
In its production facility in Gidy, France, Servier also uses the FE55 tablet press from Fette Compacting.
Easy to operate, easy to clean
Another big plus for Cédric Papon is the fact that the F30i can be cleaned much more efficiently and safely. Compared to the predecessor model, the cladding parts to be cleaned have been reduced by 71 percent. “For us, this represents a double advantage,” says Cédric Papon. “First, the overall cleaning time shrinks significantly, effectively saving us money. Second, the reduced cleaning time reduces the need for our operators to go to great lengths to protect themselves from contact with the active ingredient during cleaning operations.”
The F30i also excels when it comes to user-friendliness. It offers several smart software solutions that help even less experienced operators avoid typical operating errors. A modern Human Machine Interface (HMI) enables intuitive control, monitoring and documentation of the machine and process equipment.
“The HMI of the F30i is very similar to the version used on Fette Compacting’s FE55. Since we also use the FE55 in Gidy, it is very easy for our employees to familiarize themselves with using the F30i,” says Cédric Papon.
The cooperation continues
Ultimately, it is not the machines alone that make Fette Compacting a valuable partner for Servier. Cédric Papon explains: “Since 2019, our cooperation has noticeably strengthened. This is mainly due to the excellent service and the principle of proactive fleet management, which ensures that all our machines are ready for use and maximally efficient at all times.”
Based on this good experience, the company intends to further expand its cooperation with Fette Compacting in the coming years, says Cédric Papon. This applies both to service and to the acquisition of new machines. Servier is already planning to purchase another tablet press at the end of 2022. Again for the plant in Gidy. Again an F30i.
