CVC Technologies outlines market strategies for pharma packing machines

Vijaya K - Bangalore

The Indian arm of the California-based CVC Technologies Inc is all set to capture the domestic pharma market for packing machines and has already bagged Rs 40 million orders from the Indian majors. The seven month old Indian unit of CVC Technologies is planning strategies to capitalise on the emerging generics market and patent era in India. ‘‘The Indian pharma players today are going for quality manufacturing. This is one of the reasons CVC decided to enter here offering end of the line packing machines for the Indian pharma manufacturers,’’ explained V Venkitachalam, CEO for the Indian operations while speaking to Express Pharma Pulse.

CVC India is focussed on the Indian pharma players with a focus on exports where stringent manufacturing methods are required. ‘‘Quality machines for packing are in demand because more and more export oriented Indian companies are meeting USFDA, UKMCA standards and audits are becoming strong. It is not only the quality, but demand for consistency on quality is also on the raise,’’ he opines.

CVC Technologies has shifted its manufacturing plant to its Asia Pacific headquarters at Taiwan to avail of the good infrastructure and also considering the recent developmental activities and growth in pharma sector in Asia region. ‘‘At the moment we do not have any plans to set up manufacturing unit in India. Not many players come forward to set up manufacturing plants in India mainly because of red tapism, imitation of technology and lack of machine patent system,’’ asserts Venkitachalam.

The company is in serious discussions with some domestic pharma majors on various upcoming projects. ‘‘Pharma companies are considering us as a serious partner. We anticipate to have a good number of players in our client base and currently we are in talks with companies including Orchid Healthcare Pharma, Dr Reddy’s, Cipla, Aurobindo, Ranbaxy, Wockhardt to name a few,’’ he revealed.

According to him the market for packing machines is going to be rather spread out than concentrated due to more consolidations expected in future. ‘‘With more mergers and acquisitions companies are going in for outsourcing and this is going to change the global market for packing machines. Most of the US majors are today outsourcing their manufacturing to other countries and hence the market is bound to grow in other countries,’’ he adds.

CVC Technologies offers over 30 end of the line complete range of products starting from packing machines for tablets, capsules and liquid filling with a sophisticated process for labelling manufactured as per USFDA guidelines and with constant technology upgradation. These include automatic cartoner for blister packs, tablet/capsule counter and filler equipping packing line for accurate counting and filling of all standards and for all shapes and sizes of tablets, capsules, caplets, transparent soft gels, etc. The CVC tablet/capsule packing line are offered at outstanding performance, appearance and price. The product range also include bottle unscrambler, air wash bottle cleaner, tablet capsule counter, desiccant inserter, cotton inserter, induction capsealer etc. The company has presence in several countries including China which is the emerging market, Indonesia and Russia. The domestic market for pharma machines is about Rs 500 crores and CVC India plans to post a revenue of US $6-8 m in the next five years time. ‘‘We are open for long term partnerships with pharma players who are looking for quality oriented products. We are also exploring the possibilities for tie ups with system integrator for business cooperation. Our plans are to offer global products with local support,’’ says Venkitachalam.

CVC Technologies Inc produces 60 per cent of its total machines for the pharma industry of which some are patented. ‘‘As far as applicability of machines are concerned our focus is on the pharma industry because there is demand for quality machines,” feels Venkitachalam.