Medreich, a formulation major which is on a new facility expansion mode, has opted for pre-engineered building (PEB) structure to ensure that it is on par with the new concepts in construction for its two greenfield projects that are underway at Hoskote in Bengaluru.

It is the second pharma company in Karnataka preferring PEB structures after the Canadian pharma company Apotex at the Bommasandra Industrial Area in Bengaluru.

The company has eight manufacturing plants of which six are in India and two abroad employing 3,000 personnel. Five facilities are in Bengaluru and one in Hyderabad. Its international units are in Spain and UK. The facilities are accredited by MHRA, TGA & MCC besides regulators in Asia. It has a global presence through its subsidiary companies in UK, Australia, South Africa and Far East.

The two new greenfield projects take the total number of Medreich plants to 10 of which eight are in India. Being a closely held company, no details of its new investments were disclosed.

The first greenfield project spans over 10 acres and is a large tablet-capsule production plant expected to start operations in December, 2014. The state-of-the-art facility with latest technologies will operate on lean manufacturing concepts that include an automatic storage and retrieval system (ASRS) and warehouse management system with a capacity to handle 10,000 pallets.

The second greenfield project on nine acres at Gundrahalli village, Hoskote will be exclusively dedicated to manufacture oral Betalactam products.

“There had been no new plants constructed by Medreich since 2007. Going by the advances in building concepts, we decided to go in for pre-engineered buildings to keep pace with the latest developments in construction for pharmaceutical manufacturing units,” CP Bothra, managing director, Medreich, told Pharmabiz.

These Greenfield projects are environment friendly structures to ensure decreased energy consumption and water conservation. In addition, it also brings in efficiencies of effluent treatment plants (ETP), solar lighting and rain water harvesting, he added.

PEB structures allow speedy construction which leads to faster plant commissioning. “The facility design utilizes various energy saving techniques and prevents carbon emission. It provides an ecologically sensitive, waste reducing and a healthy environment for the employees, stated Bothra.

The two greenfield projects will help Medreich double its existing production capacities and help generate direct and indirect employment for over 2500 people in the state.

In April this year, Medreich had stated that it was in a dialogue with strategic investors to chart its next growth after the Singapore-based Temasek announced its intention to divest its stake in the company.

Since 1976, Medreich has been working with global pharma majors and has proven its expertise in formulation manufacturing for five of the top 25 brands in the country. Its advanced R&D Centre has 100 scientists working round-the-clock to chip in their expertise in innovative product development.