The agreement to bring European quality freeze drying technology to India follows a similar agreement to supply GEA Courtoy tablet presses earlier this year.

GEA Pharma Systems, the global technology leader for pharmaceutical processing equipment, has recently expanded its agency representation in India with a new agreement with ACE Technologies of Mumbai to sell its range of GEA Lyophil pharmaceutical freeze dryers. Since 2005, when the company became part of the GEA Group, GEA Lyophil has enhanced its unrivalled reputation for quality and reliability earned over the last 55 years under its previous brand names of Steris and Leybold. The company has over 1000 pharmaceutical freeze dryers in operation worldwide.
 
The agreement comes soon after GEA signed a similar agency agreement with ACE earlier this year to sell its range of GEA Courtoy tablet presses. The new agreement further expands the company’s ability to supply and service Western engineered European-quality pharmaceutical processing equipment throughout the country.
 
ACE Technologies is one of India’s leading companies involved in supplying and distributing imported European sterile capital pharmaceutical technology. Over many years the company has developed a strong reputation for good service and benefits from a wide distribution network throughout the country. ACE Technologies is the ideal partner for GEA as its portfolio already includes leading players in the sterile pharma application field. This new agreement will help GEA Pharma Systems expand its supply of complete pharmaceutical processing systems in this rapidly growing market.
 
Navin Lakhanpaul, Regional Manager for GEA Pharma Systems in India confirmed that the agreement was good news for his customers too. “The new agreement will provide an excellent service network enabling us to react more quickly to our customers’ requirements for leading edge pharmaceutical freeze drying equipment with a first-class back up service.” he said. “We are delighted to be working with ACE as the company is recognised throughout India for its unrivalled expertise in this field.”
 
The agreement currently covers the supply and servicing of all GEA Lyophil equipment including ALUS (Automatic Loading and Unloading System), a system that was pioneered by the company 20 years ago. ALUS® effectively meets the pharmaceutical industry’s need for effective contamination prevention and operator protection when handling highly toxic substances. GEA Lyophil is already a leading global supplier of equipment for the manufacture of vaccines and oncology products because of its low cost of ownership and operational reliability. This new agreement will help the company open up the Indian market for full, custom-designed, European quality engineering. The agreement also includes the supply of GEA Lyophil’s new SMART LYO® pharmaceutical freeze dryers.   SMART LYO® helps manufacturers keep costs down by using proven standardised modules to create a plant customised specifically for the needs of each customer.   
 
Ajay Mehra & Hari Menon, Directors of ACE Technologies are confident that their company can make a significant contribution to GEA’s market penetration in India. “This is a business that is very familiar to us,” said Ajay. “Our expertise in this area and our nationwide service coverage, combined with GEA technology make ours a powerful alliance.”
Until now all GEA’s sales in India have been handled through its regional office in Vadodara, Gujarat. However, the company has recognised that to provide this growing market with the best possible service and to embrace the opportunities presented, it would require a national network. Frans K.A. Maas, Division Director Sales & Marketing said that he is very excited about this new strategic development for the company. “We have seen the phenomenal success that ACE Technologies has had as a distributor of pharmaceutical freeze drying equipment in India and are confident that their customer network, service set-up and engineering capabilities will be a tremendous asset to us,” he said.
 
GEA Pharma Systems and ACE Technologies will be at P-MEC India (Pharmaceutical Machinery and Equipment Convention), the largest Indian pharma equipment supplier exhibition, in the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai from 1-3rd December. Customers are invited to visit them in Hall 6.
 
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Editor’s note:
GEA Pharma Systems is dedicated to innovation and thereby providing durable quality through its well-established brands: Aeromatic-Fielder™ and Collette™ - batch and continuous granulation, drying, pelletizing and coating; Buck® - contained materials handling; Courtoy™ - tablet compression; and Lyophil™ - pharmaceutical freeze drying.