Over-deliver, under budget

Industry: Pharmaceutical

Product: Blenders

“The solution that CPS delivered cut three years off of our project cycle and $8 million off of the budget,” says the project engineer for a major pharmaceutical client. Fortunately for everyone involved, the time and cost savings is only part of the story.

After an introduction to what we will call, Project 5, CPS began working with the client on several concepts to suit their desired output. The original scope called for… a column blender, 10 intermediate bulk containers (IBCs), and two discharge stations in the first year.

The client anticipated that the drug in Project 5 would have a dramatic demand curve after introduction and planned to increase capacity quickly. In years two – four, the equipment list from year one would more than double, as well as adding a cabinet style wash-station for the IBCs.

The Column Blender, installed to complicate the project further, the client planned to pursue an aggressive construction element to get the equipment in their facility. The original plan called for the process to spread from the lowest floor for dispensing and blending, to the highest floor for discharge and tableting. CPS took an active role in process layout, from the equipment perspective, and focused on efficiency.

“We got our whole team involved,” says Scott Heffern, Senior Vice President of Products. “Our experience with powder processing, containment, and ability to customize our equipment made all of the difference.”

Within six weeks of the project team forming, CPS had worked with the client and their construction firm to revamp the process flow and equipment mix. Instead of multiple floors and duplicate equipment, the entire process was contained to one floor with a mezzanine, and equipment costs dropped by more than 50%.

Included in the new scope was a dispensary with two column lifts and high precision weighing equipment. Positioned in a previously under used room, the dispensing system allowed the process to stay on one floor.

Downstream of the dispensary were the blending suite and an IBC-to-IBC transfer suite to accommodate the client’s process. CPS also integrated process analytical technology (near infrared spectroscopy) and hand-held charging containers (for excipients) to the blending suite. Moving the IBCs to the existing mezzanine for discharge was the largest challenge of the project. CPS designed and built a two-post lift that allowed IBCs to be loaded from one side on the main floor, and unloaded from the opposite side on the mezzanine.

“The CPS design for the mezzanine lift was a game changer for this project,” offers the project engineer. “Without that, we couldn’t have accomplished our objectives.”

Lift for Bin-to-Bin transfers

Once on the mezzanine, the IBCs docked into a CPS discharge station that included a patented EZ-Down, anti-segregation device. The entire system was operable from the tablet suites below and provided a dust tight environment.

To finish the process, CPS provided a custom cleaning solution that cleans and dries the interior of the IBC. Because of the limitations in the room, CPS designed the system to simply bolt to the floor, eliminating the need for extensive plumbing and floor construction.

“We were able to give our client more than enough capacity for their production needs,” concludes Heffern, “while making best use of their available space and budget.”

Find out what CPS can do for you. Give us a call at 417-868-8002 or send us an email at Sales@Custom-Powder.com