SGD Pharma's glassworks: a centenarian with a bright future
Specialising from the outset in manufacturing products for the pharmaceutical industry, SGD Pharma, an emblematic local company, celebrated the 100th anniversary of its Sucy-en-Brie site in 2017.
Located near the Sucy-Bonneuil RER station, the plant was founded in 1917 under the name Verreries de la Brie. “Thanks to the proximity of the river port of Bonneuil on the Marne and a well-developed rail network, the Sucy-en-Brie plant could source raw materials (in particular Fontainebleau sand), easily recruit workers (from the industrial belt around Paris) and enjoy a strategic location, set back from the First World War front line,” SGD Pharma recalls. A strategic location that still pays off today, as its proximity to the main traffic routes of the Île-de-France region enables optimised logistics.
After being acquired by Desjonquères in 1961 and then belonging to the Saint-Gobain group from 1972 to 2007, the site was sold in 2007. The company then took the name SGD, and later SGD Pharma, asserting its positioning.
SGD Pharma focuses exclusively on manufacturing glass packaging for the pharmaceutical industry (flint or amber glass bottles, pill jars, droppers, ampoules, injectable vials, infusion bottles, etc.). Owned since 2016 by the Chinese investment fund JIC Jianyin Investment, SGD Pharma has two plants in France, one in Germany, one in India and one in China, with a total of more than 3,000 employees. Today, the Sucy-en-Brie site remains SGD Pharma's largest production site: covering 41,000 m² and with two furnaces operating around the clock, no fewer than 3 million glass bottles are produced every day by the site's 400 employees! The plant is therefore one of the most important players in the European healthcare chain: without suitable bottles, medicines cannot be distributed.
More than €20 million of investment and a new furnace in 2021
A century old, the SGD Pharma plant in Sucy-en-Brie is looking to the future with new developments. The SGD Pharma group and its shareholder JIC have announced an investment of more than €20 million to rebuild the furnace and modernise the site.
After 12 years of continuous operation, one of the two furnaces will be completely rebuilt and enlarged in 2021. This work, which will require changes to the building's superstructure, will improve the site's environmental performance, with a 10% reduction in energy consumption.
All production lines will be modernised with the latest technologies. Finally, the acquisition of new machines for the inspection and control lines will improve the detection of non-conformities.
Together, these investments will enable SGD Pharma to boost the site's industrial performance by improving production quality and flexibility. The work will last two months, during which SGD Pharma will rely on its other production sites to fulfil orders.
SGD Pharma is hiring
SGD Pharma regularly recruits hot-end (mechanical specialisation) and cold-end line operators. Several recruitment and training sessions are held every year. After recruitment, training lasts one month and combines theory and practice (shadowing an experienced employee).
Grand Paris Sud Avenir - 02/10/2020 - https://sudestavenir.fr/la-verrerie-sgd-pharma-une-centenaire-pleine-dav...