German plastics group Röchling (Mannheim; www.roechling.com) has held groundbreaking ceremonies for a new building that will house production of medical products as part of a EUR 50m investment at its domestic site in Neuhaus am Rennweg. The outlay for construction and machinery is said to be the plastic converter’s biggest to date. The expansion is expected to create 30 local jobs, and manufacturing at the site is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2023.

A four-story building with a total area of 1,850 m² is to be finished by the beginning of 2023, the company said, creating space for the necessary clean areas for extrusion blow moulding production. Plans include a top floor with around 1,700 m² of class C and D GMP cleanroom production, of which approximately 500 m² will be in GMP high-level pharma standard C.

Hanns-Peter Knaebel, President & CEO of the Röchling group, said, “This is an investment in the growth of our Medical division. Demand for medical products has risen sharply in recent years. By building the new production building, we will be able to better serve our customers’ requirements moving ahead while also expanding our market position.”

In 2016, the Röchling group added the medical division to its two existing divisions, industrial and automotive (see Plasteurope.com 22.01.2016). In Neuhaus, the company said it currently operates seven injection blow moulding machines, one injection moulding machine, one injection stretch blow moulding machine, and 20 extrusion blow moulding machines, three of which are capable of co-extrusion blow moulding.