For years, the Gerresheimer Group has used various programs to improve production processes. We have developed our own standardized overall concept by drawing on best practices from this wealth of programs and experience. This Gerresheimer management System is implemented and improved on an ongoing basis. It is based on the lean manufacturing concept and comprises standardized methods for improving opera- tional value-added processes, thus opening up additional efficiency potential. The program ensures compli- ance with a high standard of quality that is enforced uniformly worldwide.
The Gerresheimer management System has been successfully implemented and integrated into the proc- esses at all subsidiaries. This system was also implemented as part of the integration process at the newly- acquired Gerresheimer Zaragoza and Gerresheimer São Paulo in the financial year 2008 and further optimized in the new financial year. during the implementation process, these entities benefited from the experience and best practice standards of the entire Gerresheimer Group.
As part of a continuous improvement process, Gerresheimer constantly optimizes all the methods and tools it uses. An international team of experts from all technical departments and companies throughout the Group revises and enhances the program on an ongoing basis. They focus on three areas:
Identifying and fully integrating best practice examples developed in the factories to make adaptation and specific application easier
Further enhancement of the audit systems of the production systems
Introducing standardized training programs which optimize the transfer of knowledge between the production sites.
The Gerresheimer management System is a recognized, established, and actively used system for developing the Group’s production processes. It is given top priority at all hierarchical levels. It ensures a continuous improvement process to make sure that we provide our customers with the best possible quality, both now and in the future.
SaLeS DeVeLOPMent
In 2008, the Gerresheimer Group’s sales rose from EUR 957.7m in the prior year by 10.7 % to EUR 1,060.1m. This growth is chiefly attributable to an upward sales trend in the pharma & life science and cosmetics market segments and to the acquisitions of Gerresheimer Zaragoza and Gerresheimer São Paulo. net of currency effects, sales growth was 12.8 % in the year under review.
Gerresheimer Zaragoza and Gerresheimer São Paulo, which were acquired at the end of January 2008, contributed to the Group’s sales for ten months of the financial year.
The Tubular Glass division’s sales amounted to EUR 302.0m in 2008, up EUR 30.8m or 11.4 % on the prior year. At a comparable exchange rate, the Tubular Glass division boosted its sales by 14.1 % against the prior year. The sustained, strong year-on-year growth of 36 % in the area of RFT® syringe systems as well as
increasing sales for vials on the US market were the key factors in this division’s sales growth in 2008. Because of sustained high demand, the Group made the investment decision to construct a third RTF®
syringe line back in the third quarter of 2007. This will be put into operation in 2009. Both sales growth in the Chinese market and the pharma glass business of Comar Inc. acquired in march 2007 contributed to the increase in sales in the financial year.
The Plastic Systems division increased sales by EUR 46.3m in 2008 compared with the prior year, taking it to EUR 346.0m. This represents growth of 15.4 %. It should be noted that unlike in the prior year, sales from the Consumer Healthcare business is not included as from June 1, when the business was sold. Furthermore, sales of the Technical Plastic Systems business continued to decrease as expected, because Gerresheimer stopped accepting customer orders with unattractive margins. In the fourth quarter of 2008, a drop in sales was also experienced due to the economic crisis in the automotive industry. Sales growth was mainly recorded in the medical Plastic Systems segment of the Wilden Group. The segment success- fully increased its sales predominantly in the areas of inhalers, diabetes care and molecular diagnostics. In addition, Gerresheimer Zaragoza and Gerresheimer São Paulo, which have been consolidated since the end of January 2008, and the inclusion of Gerresheimer Wilden for twelve months (compared with eleven months in the prior year) contributed to the Plastic Systems segment’s sales growth.
With sales of EUR 333.7m, the moulded Glass division generated nominal year-on-year sales growth of 4.7 % (net of currency effects: 6.6 %) in 2008. This means that the division again recorded considerably higher growth rates than the market. The increase mainly stems from higher sales from pharmaceutical bottles in the US and Europe as well as in the area of cosmetics products.
The Life Science Research division increased its sales by 28.5 % to EUR 92.8m in the financial year. The increase is primarily attributable to the acquired life science business of Thermo Fisher which was contributed to the Kimble Chase joint venture and only contributed to sales for five months in 2007. Higher domestic sales in China also contributed to sales growth. due to the great variety of its products and its international production network with low-cost locations in mexico and China, Kimble Chase has positioned itself excellently on the market.