Catalent invests $14m in softgel manufacturing facility
The $14m (€12.5m) expansion at the company’s Eberbach, Germany, facility is expected to be complete in 2020. The investment will enable an expansion of Catalent’s printing technology, vision inspection system, and its softgel coating capabilities, as well as the addition of increased packaging capacity.
Additionally, the expanded site will see an increase in the workforce by more than 10%.
According to Catalent, its Eberbach facility is its biggest softgel development and manufacturing plant in Europe, with a capacity to produce more than 10 billion softgel capsules per year.
The 360,000 square-foot facility provides integrated softgel manufacturing services for prescription pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, nutritional supplements, and other products.
It previously updated the site in 2015, when the facility incorporated softgel coating and blister packaging equipment.
A spokesperson for Catalent told us that the investment is driven by rising interest in the products made at the facility, particularly animal-free consumer health products. A softgel capsule made through Catalent’s proprietary Vegicaps technology will be given additional encapsulation lines to meet growing global demand.
Catalent has made agreements to bolster its softgel sector and oral technologies business with acquisitions of Brazil-based Relthy, and China-based softgel producer Zhejiang Jian Yuan Tang, in the last five years to add to its manufacturing capabilities.
