Cherian Philip, Chairman and Managing Director, Sartorius India Pvt Ltd, is ecstatic about the current biotechnology boom worldwide. Sartorius India Pvt Ltd, which is an Indo-German venture is a biotechnology engineering major in India that provides total solutions from design to commissioning of bio-reactors. The company has announced plans to enter medical biotechnology in a big way; build bio-reactors for pharmaceutical companies who are primarily into the production of vaccines, enzymes and other recombinant DNA products. In the last two years, the company has completed several complex biotech-pharma projects for Biological E, Lupin Chemicals, Alembic and Zydus Cadila, in addition to tapping export orders. The Sartorius India head, who is a management graduate from the IMD, Lausanne, Switzerland, one among the world''s top 10 business schools, had the acumen and experience to predict that biotechnology would become the next big wave in technology development and conceived the potential of bio-engineering, a decade ago. Cherian Philip could not have timed the move better for Sartorius India to invest in an opportunity along with its core business areas of weighing instruments, separation and filtration technology solutions. Having been with the Sartorius Group since 1987 where he served as the head of South Asian Liaison office in Mumbai, Cherian Philip went on to become an entrepreneur, started SFS Technologies which later became a joint venture company with Sartorius Group, Germany to form Sartorius India. He is also a member of the Senior Talent Bank of the Sartorius Group worldwide, which comprises of a pool of leaders who are trained to take on senior management positions in the Group. In a freewheeling chat with Nandita Vijay of Pharmabiz.com, Cherian Philip discusses the challenges that went into building this biotech engineering major. Excerpts:

What are the main strengths of Sartorius India?

The biggest strength of Sartorius India, is that we are at the helm of an emerging knowledge industry-biotechnology. The asset of this organisation is the people whose innovation and application have helped to provide total solutions pharma-biotech projects. We are the engineers to the biotech industry and that is the greatest resource of this organisation. Sartorius India has grown leveraging on its experience in manufacture of state-of-the-art bioreactors, upstream and downstream equipment for R&D, pilot scale and production, tailor-made to customer needs. Our task groups work closely in design, manufacture, implementation, commissioning and participate in the initial production process for clients within a tight time frame.

What is the investment structure of the Indian operations? What is the equity stake with your parent company?

Sartorius India was formed as a joint venture between SFS Technologies and Sartorius Group in 1995. SFS dealt with development of hardware for separation technologies and building of bio- reactors. Sartorius AG holds 51 percent stake and the remaining 49 percent shares are held by myself and associates.

Would you briefly give us details of how your parent company and the Indian operations have grown since its inception?

Sartorius AG headquartered in Goettingen, Germany, is a group of DIN ISO 9001 companies with a long tradition of excellence and innovative strength. It ranks among the leaders in biotechnology, mechatronics and environment technology. The company''s expertise in biotechnology covers application for bio molecular and microbial separations, concentration, purification, fermentation and cell culturing. In mechatronics, it is combining mechanical, electronic engineering and information technology. Currently, the focus is on a chain of processes with its range of products for laboratory and industrial weighing including electrochemistry. The new area of expertise-environmental technology is a display of its core competency in weighing and separation technology. The major chunk of clientele is from chemical, pharmaceutical, food & beverage industry, apart from research and educational institutions. Sartorius networks in 110 countries. The Indian operations of course act as a ''one-window'' solution for pharma-bio process engineering, membrane and separation technologies, quality control expertise, validation & process optimization and weighing technology. The year 2000 was a year of great achievement not only by the best results in our corporate history but in terms of top Line growth by 193 per cent.

What is the size of the weighing instruments market in India and how do you rate this sector?

It is a small niche segment in the pharma-biotech sector. The future of weighing is not just weighing something alone but applying mechatronics in biotechnology. We have been doing well in the domestic market. The company''s strategy of process solutions through customers'' value chain and combining the engineering skills nurtured in Bangalore with our technology partners has given us the edge over others.

What are the new trends coming up in Biotech Engineering, Separation and Filtration technologies?

Customers want a single window solution for all their needs and it aligns very well for us at Sartorius, as we are quite high up on the learning curve to providing a one-window solution to the pharma-biotech industry. Customers are on the look out for a consultant rather that an equipment manufacturer and again it matches with our core competency in the field.

Could you give details about production facilities? What in your opinion are the unique features about your manufacturing plant?

Sartorius India enjoys the status of being one of the three system manufacturing facilities for our parent company, worldwide, other than in Germany and US. We are doubling our investments from the present production capacity of Rs 20 crore to Rs 50 crore. Production is only one small part of the story. The engineering know-how and our ability to scale up is utmost important rather than our production capacity.

What are the future plans you have charted out for your company?

For the future, there is lot to be realised. We plan to enter medical biotechnology in a big way, positioning ourselves as the solution provider in Biotech Engineering in up, mid and down stream processes. A host of lab products are in the pipeline which include membrane separation processes. Sartorius which has always been known world wide and in India for its lab weighing equipment, and membrane technology, will now work to provide a link from laboratory research to the commercialising of final product. We will also assist pharma companies in value-added design of pilot and production facilities incorporating all aspects of the job becoming more and more a turnkey solution provider.