Gerresheimer (Düsseldorf, Germany) paints the move as an important step in the global expansion of its medical molding operations. Gerresheimer in 2007 acquired noted molder Wilden (Regensburg, also Germany) and last summer sold Wilden’s technical plastics systems business, which primarily molded and assembled automotive components.

The new molding facility will be located in Indaiatuba, Brazil. Novo Nordisk has a large insulin production plant in Brazil. This molding shop will be Gerresheimer’s fourth in South America; the other three (two in Brazil, one in Argentina) produce standard plastic pharmaceutical packaging. 

Last September the company announced an expansion of its pharmaceutical plastic business in the U.S. and Spain. It opened a new research and development center for medical plastic systems in the Peachtree City, GA (and a new processing facility for plastic pharmaceutical packaging in Spain). At the time, the company’s CEO stated that plastics processing at his company, long purely a glass processor, accounted for a third of sales and was its largest growth area. The company has not yet announced its fourth-quarter figures for 2009 but in the first nine months of its financial year (December 2008–August 2009) chalked up sales of €744.3m (prior year, €783.4m). Excluding the Technical Plastics business that it sold, sales totaled €714.9m, a drop of 1.7% compared with the prior year. Its Plastic Systems Division grew by more than 5% (at constant exchange rates) during the first three quarters. —[email protected]