Fresenius Kabi is investing about €35 million to modernize the company’s production facility in Louviers, France. Two sterilization units and two production lines for Freeflex® infusion bags will be housed in a 3,300-square-meter (35,500-square-foot) building being constructed on the site and will replace the existing production facilities. In this way, the company will continue to ensure the availability of these important products into the future. The modernization is scheduled for completion before the end of 2023. Fresenius Kabi employs some 370 people at the Louviers plant and has a total of about 1,500 employees in France.

Fresenius Medical Care North America opens a new laboratory in Mississippi, USA. With 200,000-square-foot (19,000 square-meters), it is the company’s largest facility of this kind. More than 300 jobs will be created over the next several years, providing the capacity to service more dialysis patients. At the new building, employees conduct comprehensive testing, analysis and reporting to ensure the best possible outcomes for patients.

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leif.heussen@fresenius.com

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Fresenius Medical Care, the world’s leading provider of products and services for people with chronic kidney failure, has opened a new technology center for developing dialysis machines at its Schweinfurt, Germany production and development site. About 220 employees from different departments will work together on a project basis in the new 7,500-square-meter (81,000-square-foot) building, in which the company has invested about €22 million.

Due to the pandemic, the opening ceremony was a purely digital event. The online conference included a video tour through the building. In addition, employees presented their future workstations in the technical, laboratory and testing areas, as well as offices, break spaces and conference rooms.

“As much as virtual cooperation from home office works well: In combination with virtual networking, person-to-person interactions on site are irreplaceable, and so I am really looking forward to the cooperation in our new technology center,” said Johann Brede, Project Director of the technology center. “With short and direct access ways and corridors, and an open structure, the entire building is designed for networking and exchanges between different disciplines and teams. This way, we can develop for our patients even better dialysis machines that will also cost less.”

Construction of the five-floor building, which required some 5,700 cubic meters of concrete and 900 tons of steel, took three years. The technology center is built to modern environmental standards and includes, among other features, a “green roof.”

The plant in Schweinfurt, which was established in 1979, is Fresenius Medical Care’s largest development and production facility for dialysis machines and other medical devices. The company now employs more than 1,200 people in the city in northern Bavaria, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) east of Frankfurt. About a third of them work in research and development.

Dialysis machines are among the most important products for treating chronic kidney disease. During treatment, the dialysis machine pumps the patient’s blood through bloodlines, monitors its circulation through the dialyzer, and adds anti-coagulants. Treatments are generally carried out three times weekly, and take between three and six hours each.

Fresenius Kabi is further expanding its Austrian facilities. The company will invest more than €60 million through 2023 to expand capacity and upgrade infrastructure at its production plant in Graz and packaging center in nearby Werndorf. The measures will be focused on the freeze-drying area and the lines for filling and packing glass bottles and ready-to-administer prefilled syringes.

“Prefilled syringes are a fast-growing market for us,” said Plant Manager Dr. Ruth Staubmann. “Many healthcare institutions and organizations recognize the clear advantages in terms of their rapid application and, above all, safety of use.” The expansion of the Graz plant will approximately double production capacity in this product category.

Fresenius Kabi produces liquid pharmaceuticals and clinical nutrition products for the Austrian and international markets in Graz. The site has special expertise in aseptic production and the manufacturing of complex products such as anesthetics, analgesics, anti-infectives and antibiotics. It also makes clinical nutrition products. In total, Fresenius Kabi currently has more than 900 employees in Graz. The number of additional jobs that will be created through the expansion cannot yet be determined.

In addition to the Graz plant and the packaging and logistics center in Werndorf, Fresenius Kabi’s Austrian operations include a research and development center in Grambach and a plant and distribution facility in Linz that specializes in the production of active ingredients and lactulose. The company employs a total of about 1,500 people in Austria.

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T: +49 (0) 6172 608-4030
leif.heussen@fresenius.com

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Melanie Schmitt of Fresenius Medical Care in Schweinfurt is Germany’s best apprentice in the category “Electronics Technician for Information and Systems Technology.” This annual award from the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce was based on her outstanding examination results at the end of a three-and-a-half-year training period. Schmitt, 20, was also honored for the best vocational qualification in the State of Bavaria and the Main-Franconia region.

Between September 2016 and February 2020, Schmitt trained in various departments in production and in research and development at Fresenius Medical Care’s facility in Schweinfurt. She learned to develop and program electronic switches and other hardware and software components. The Schweinfurt resident is now working in the software and systems verification department of the Global Research and Development division.

“If I do something, then I like to do it right,” Schmitt said, explaining her outstanding results to the small group gathered for the award presentation at the Schweinfurt plant. An annual ceremony is normally held in Berlin to honor all the apprentice winners from across Germany, but it had to be canceled this year due to the pandemic.

“As the local chamber, state and federal winner, Melanie Schmitt accomplished a gigantic feat,” said Jürgen Bode, Deputy Director of the Würzburg-Schweinfurt Chamber of Industry and Commerce, who presented the award. “This required good cooperation between the apprentice and the company providing the training. My thanks to Fresenius Medical Care, who have accomplished this superbly.”

Christian Hepp, head of industrial training at Fresenius Medical Care in Schweinfurt, said: “Quality in training is very important to us. We are really delighted, along with Melanie Schmitt, about this special award. And we are honored that she has decided on a future with us.”

During industrial and commercial training at Fresenius Medical Care in Schweinfurt, apprentices, trainees and students in dual-study programs work on various projects together with engineers and other experts. Assignments have a specific practical application, and there are few purely academic exercises.

Opened in 1979, the Schweinfurt facility is Fresenius Medical Care’s most important research and production facility for dialysis machines and other medical devices. The company currently has more than 1,300 employees at the site, about a third of them in research and development.

Contact

T: +49 (0) 6172 608-4030
leif.heussen@fresenius.com

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Fresenius Medical Care, the world’s leading provider of dialysis products and services, is joining through its Schweinfurt facility a Bavarian government initiative that aims to show how a strong economy is fully compatible with a healthy environment. The “Umweltpakt Bayern” (Bavaria environmental pact) includes a range of discussion and working groups where companies and public authorities in the German federal state can exchange views and expertise on topics such as climate, energy consumption and the sustainable use of resources.

In these forums, Fresenius Medical Care will be contributing know-how and experience in environmental management gained at its plant and development facility in Schweinfurt, a city in northern Bavaria about 120 kilometers (75 miles) east of Frankfurt.

Through efficient environmental and energy management based on the ISO standards 14001 and 50001, the Schweinfurt facility has steadily reduced its environmental impact while continuing to offer a safe, healthy workplace for all employees. By converting from oil to district heating, total CO2 emissions were cut by more than 30 percent. Measures including the systematic conversion to LED lighting and the use of energy-efficient injection molding machines reduced energy consumption, while waste material from the injection molding process is now recycled.

“Here in Schweinfurt we’re proud of our contribution to greater environmental protection,” said Andreas Völker, Plant Manager for Fresenius Medical Care in Schweinfurt. “As part of the Bavaria environmental pact, we are committing to the sustainable production of our life-sustaining medical devices. And the pact offers a valuable platform for exchanging information on technical issues related to environmental protection by companies.”

Opened in 1979, the Schweinfurt facility is Fresenius Medical Care’s most important research and production facility for dialysis machines and other medical devices. The company currently has more than 1,300 employees at the site, about a third of them in research and development.

Contact

T: +49 (0) 6172 608-4030
leif.heussen@fresenius.com

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Fresenius Medical Care, the world’s leading provider of dialysis products and services, has started a new production line for dialysis fluids at its St. Wendel, Germany, plant. The new line for so-called “CiCa solutions” – citrate anticoagulants, which prevent clotting of the blood – is the plant’s fifth production line for dialysis fluids used in the treatment of acute and chronic kidney disease. These and other dialysis products manufactured by the company in St. Wendel are shipped to healthcare facilities around the world.

Work on the new line was accelerated due to the coronavirus pandemic, enabling the company to put it into operation several months ahead of schedule. Severe COVID-19 cases often cause acute kidney failure, which has significantly increased worldwide demand for the solutions needed to conduct acute dialysis. By speeding the line’s completion, Fresenius Medical Care is helping to ensure the continued availability of these life-sustaining medicinal products.

“As one of the world’s most important manufacturing facilities for dialysis products, we are facing particular challenges from the pandemic,” said Plant Manager Gerhard Breith. “I am very proud that thanks to the extraordinary commitment of everyone involved, and the unmatched team spirit of our employees, we were able to complete this production line well ahead of schedule.”

Fresenius Medical Care’s St. Wendel plant, which went into operation in 1974, is one of the world’s largest production facilities for dialysis products and is also the development center for new products and production processes adopted by other company plants. Fresenius Medical Care has about 2,000 employees in St. Wendel.

Fresenius Medical Care, the world’s largest provider of dialysis products and services, is aware that patient data from some of the company’s dialysis centers in Serbia has been published by unauthorized persons. The company’s understanding is that this is associated with the IT incident which affected parts of Fresenius’s IT environment a few weeks ago and that hackers were able to steal certain data. The investigation is ongoing.

Fresenius Medical Care has immediately filed a complaint against the unknown attackers with the public prosecutor in Germany. The company is committed to fully cooperate with the relevant authorities. Furthermore, the company will contact the patients who are affected by the illegal data publication. 

The company’s operations in Serbia continue and the care of patients has been safeguarded. 

The company deeply regrets this invasion of some patients’ privacy, is doing its utmost to prevent further data to be published and to save affected patients and other stakeholders from harm. 

Internal and external specialists are continuously working to prevent further potential attacks or unauthorized data access.

Fresenius Kabi and Vifor Pharma have formed a joint venture in China to provide patients access to vital blood management treatment. It will combine Vifor Pharma’s leading intravenous drug portfolio for the treatment of iron deficiency with Fresenius Kabi’s strong and long-year presence in the market to benefit both patients and the healthcare system in China. The joint venture will focus on marketing, market access and medical affairs activities whereas Fresenius Kabi will be fully responsible for the commercialization of the intravenous iron portfolio. The joint company will be 55% owned by Vifor Pharma and 45% by Fresenius Kabi. Financial terms were not disclosed.