Sirio Europe upgrades Brandenburg site with sustainable, greener solutions

Photo © iStockphoto.com/MarsBars

Sirio Europe (Brandenburg, Germany) installed new HVAC systems, individual drying chambers, vegetarian softgel manufacturing equipment, and a block heat and power plant in its Brandenburg site. The new HVAC systems increase the plant’s manufacturing capacity and further reduces the risk of product contamination, while the individual drying chambers control the temperature of individual products, which is more energy-efficient and improves the softgel-drying process. The vegetarian softgel manufacturing line now allows the firm to meet the demand for plant-based nutraceuticals.

“One of the reasons behind the investments was that we wanted to be at the forefront of implementing greener solutions and energy-efficient manufacturing for our pharma customers,” said Dominique Baum, managing director at Sirio Europe, in a press release. “So, while implementing new equipment, we also explored how we can improve the plant’s sustainability.” 

For example, the energy-efficient block heat and power station increases power output by up to 50%. It captures and recycles heat that is otherwise lost as waste into thermal energy to power the new manufacturing equipment.

“Installing the heat block & power station is a huge business benefit in terms of reducing energy consumption,” Baum said. “For example, softgel production uses a lot of energy as strict parameters need to be adhered to—through CHP we can now manufacture softgels at a lower cost. But installing the heat block was also the right thing to do in terms of looking at ways to make manufacturing as sustainable as possible.”