serving the cold chain - argo s.a · serving the cold chain last miles medshell | in packaging...

IN PACKAGING PROGRESS

ISSUE 4

ArgonewsFEBRUARY 2012

serving the

Cold Chain last miles

MedShell

| IN Packaging Progress

Contents

03ARGo received Process award for sustainable

development

04ARGo in Pharmapack ,

Paris 15-16 /2012

05KoRRes Body Butters for Us market in Argo’s

tubes

06tIs Farmaceutic chooses Pet bottle for

Paracetamol syrup

07neoPReD –P of API: Antibiotic eye and ear

Drops in sterile dropper

08Argo in research collaboration with Athens

eye Hospital

09Medshell : a joined development of Argo and

Medline

10ARGo eGYPt penetrates further into Crop

protection market

11Alchimex’ toPsIn® 500 sC in Argo Rom’s

canisters

12ethylene oxide (eto) sterilization process

13Research activity at ARGo

4

7

12

6

5

8

11

13

9

www.argo-sa.gr | ARGO February 2012 |

The “Hellenic Business Awards for the Environment 2011-2012”, organized by the Greek Association of Environment Protection Companies (PASEPPE), is a European institution, with the awarded companies participating then in the “European Business Awards for the Environment”.This year ARGO is awarded for Sustainable development in Process category of Hellenic Business Awards for the Environment.

The awarded project consists of the installation of an innovative system for heating and cooling areas of the plant, by using thermal energy recovered as a byproduct of the process of producing compressed air for the needs of the factory.

ARGo ReCeIveD PRoCess AwARD FoR sUstAInABle DeveloPMent

03

Before: Conventional system today: Innovative system

equipment Fuel / energy equipment Fuel / energy

Heating Diesel Burner & boiler Dieseloil-water

Heat exchangerRecovered heat from air

compression process

Coolingtwo air-cooled chillers of 134 Kw power using

R22 as refrigerantelectric

oil-waterHeat exchanger combined with

absorption chiller of 105Kw power

Recovered heat from air compression process

The heat is recovered by cooling the oil of an air compressor that supplies the air network of the factory with compressed air in a rate of 20m³/min.

During the winter the recovered heat, in the form of hot water is used for the heating and as a result there is no consumption of conventional fuel in the burner-boiler, as used in the past.During the summer the hot water is introduced in an absorption chiller and cold water is produced, and used in the existing air-condition network. As a result no electric power is consumed as it used to in the conventional chillers.In the table below, the previous and current situation is presented


tHe leADInG PACKAGInG AnD DRUG DelIveRY teCHnoloGY conference and exhibition

04

Invitation : Visit ARGO in booth 224

Pharmapack Europe is acknowledged among the best exhibitions for primary pharma packaging and medical devices.

Both the exhibition and the conference which is organized in parallel, are attracting each year the interest of professionals of all related sectors : Pharma Industry, Packaging Industry, Health Services Providers , Regulatory organizations ,Universities etc.

ARGO will be there presenting its wide range of packages for the Healthcare Industry.For over 40years Argo has been specialized in plastic packaging for numerous applications.We are continuously working in close collaboration with our business partners and sector’s experts on improvements and novel products.

We are inviting you to our booth 224, to find out what products and services we can offer to you. Our latest innovation MedShell will also be presented there.

www.argo-sa.gr | ARGO February 2012 | 05

Two years ago, KORRES , a Greek company active in natural cosmetics, entered into a product licensing agreement with Johnson & Johnson, to sell and distribute Korres branded products in North America. After this transitional period during which Korres directly supported the brand for a smooth entrance in the North & South America’s markets, Johnson & Johnson undertook in total the distribution to those areas. With innovative products, Korres has gained recognition and significant distinctions within the US market. In particular, it has been recognized as one of the fastest growing brands at Sephora’s network. The brand is already available in well known chain stores, prestige sales points as well as online. The collaboration with Johnson & Johnson boosts further its market expansion. The development of products still remains responsibility of KORRES, showing the confidence of Johnson & Johnson (a group of 120.000 human resources) to the experience, knowledge and passion for herbs of a Greek company.

Argo is supporting Korres efforts with high quality packaging materials and flexibility in services.

They recently launched a new range of Body Butters with rich, luxurious creams enriched with shea butter to soften, smooth and nourish the skin.The Korres Body Butters line is perfectly offered in Argo’s tubes printed with dry-offset. Their impressive artworks depict with natural and elegant way the rich scent of fruits and blossoms the creams contain.

KoRRes Body Butters for Us marketin Argo’s tubes

| IN Packaging Progress06

tIs FARMACeUtIC CHooses Pet BottleFoR PARACetAMol sYRUPTIS Farmaceutic and Argo Rom, our affiliate in Romania were founded the same period with just few months difference.

In 1997 TIS Farmaceutic started its activity as a pharmaceutical laboratory authorized by Romanian National Medicine Agency. Since then the company had a continuous upward development. Today TIS with production facilities located in Bucharest has a rich product portfolio with more than hundred products including syrups, ointments, creams, gels.

Apart of being well established in Romanian market of generic medicines, based on its own certified production of plant extracts, TIS is also active in Alternative medicine like Apitherapy and Natural medicine.

From the beginning and since, TIS and Argo Rom have had a close and successful collaboration.

Recently for its Paracetamol Tis 120mg/5ml syrup, they chose our standard 100ml PET amber brown bottle with the 28mm (DIN 6094) tamper evident closure.

The Paracetamol Tis 120mg/5ml syrup contains as active substance Paracetamol and it is indicated for light and medium pain amelioration and temperature decrease for babies between 1 and 12 months.


neoPReD –P oF API: Antibiotic eye and ear Drops

Amman Pharmaceutical Industries (API), is a rapidly growing specialty pharmaceutical company established in 1989 as a niche pharmaceutical manufacturer. It is located in King Abdullah II industrial estate-Sahab /Amman, the capital of Jordan.Manufacturing excellence has been exemplified through the accreditation of its facilities and products by pharmaceutical and health bodies of more than 22 countries in which API products are sold.Among others API is producing eye drops for a range of applications such as antibiotics, anti-glaucoma, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergics etc.

NEOPRED-P is a successful product in the category of antibiotic eye and ear Drops. For its packaging, API chose ARGO’s standard eye dropper 10ml TE010. All parts of the dropper (vial, nozzle and cap) are offered sterile with gamma irradiation and are included in Drug Master File registered at FDA.


The Αthens Eye Hospital is the ophthalmic Hospital with the most modern infrastructure and services in Greece and Southeastern Europe. It is continuously working to provide high quality health services to improve vision, prevent blindness and for the advancement of knowledge in ophthalmology with educational programs and innovative research. Subspecialized ophthalmologists, in collaboration with a team of opticians, optometrists and nurses, work together to protect the divine gift of sight.

ARGo & AtHens eYe HosPItAlin research collaboration

The Hospital comprises of twenty departments employing state of the art equipment ,which specialize in treating different kind of ophthalmic disorders and presents international clinical and research activity.

Recently Dr.Panagiotis Zafirakis representing Athens Eye Hospital and Mr.George Stassinopoulos Argo’s CEO, agreed in a research collaboration. Working systematically in the development of medical devices and innovative packaging for eye care products ,Argo found in Athens Eye Hospital the proper collaborator as, the Hospital has not only a deep knowledge in this field, but also an innovative culture which ensures a prosperous and fruitful cooperation.

www.argo-sa.gr | ARGO February 2012 |

Current trends in pharma sector are favoring delicate medicines like biopharmaceuticals, probiotics and preservative free preparations. These require strict temperature control while in storage and during the shipping process. In most cases, the slightest fluctuation of temperature outside the pre-defined optimal range, may critically damage the quality of the medicine. Therefore, the temeprature controlled storage and shipping are becoming vital for the efficacy of the medicine. This is a difficult and challenging task for cold chain facilitators. But the temperature should certainly be controlled from pharmacy to the patient and during curing period as well. Studies by relevant parties realize breaks in the cold chain mainly at the last stages of journey : from the wholesaler/distributor to the hospital/pharmacies, from pharmacies to the patient and during curing (especially when medicine has to be used on go, out of home.

MedShell a joined development of Argo and Mediline

09

MedShell is a secondary packaging which offers the temperature control to these last miles of the journey. It is a joined development of Argo with Mediline (a Greek company active in technolgically advanced isothermal solutions). It is dedicated to pharmaceuticals which must be preserved cold, between 2° and 8°C. From our experience, temperature-controlled packaging for shipping temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals to the end users most frequently includes various insulated containers including polystyrene, polyurethane, vacuum panels and aerogel and a phase change material (PCM; also called gels) to manipulate and maintain the temperature. PCMs or gel packs change temperature quickly from the preconditioned temperature to the phase change temperature, then more slowly as they phase from solid to liquid or vice versa.

MedShell combines three different isothermal materials: EPS, a water based PCM with temperature change point 0°C and a wax based PCM with temperature change point 5°C

providing :- strict temperature control between 2° and 8°C for 8h in average ambient temperature 35°C - use for multiple trips, provided that the internal core will be re-cooled even in a common home ampliance.- portability. The convenient purse, which holds the whole system can be also provided printed for specific promotional reasons.- ideal protection from mishandling which could break the primary packaging during journey.

The dimensions of MedShell can easily be adjusted to hold one or multiple definite products.


Although it is has been less than one year since Argo Egypt has started operation, it presents a remarkable progress in terms of turnover evolution, production development and variety of product portfolio.

Argo Egypt added co-extrusion blow molding machines in its facilities and started production of multilayer bottles .They mainly consist of 4 layers and are dedicated to the Crop Protection market. The interior layer is Polyamide or EVOH according customer preference.

Though these, Argo Egypt serves this Crop Protection industry with a full range of bottles made of HDPE, PET or Co-ex, locally produced or imported from Greece. Apart from standard Argo’s product lines, Argo Egypt launched specifically designed bottles for North Africa’s market, where climate conditions demand specific packaging properties.

ARGO has had continuous presence in Egypt, exporting for more that 20years and this experience is well utilized by the new plant, giving it a boost for fast development.

ARGo eGYPt penetrates furtherinto Crop-Protection market


Fourteen years ago, a couple of people with expertise in plant protection products established Alchimex, the first Romanian private company in this sector. All these years, Alchimex had an excellent upward evolution and today is a leading domestic producer. Along these years the company has widened its production capabilities, which today include powder fungicide and insecticide formulation, emulsifiable concentrates and aqueous solutions, fungicide and insecticide suspension concentrates. In 2011 Alchimex started operating a new plant, the first one in Romania and the largest in south-eastern Europe to produce granulated herbicides. From the first beginning Alchimex has given emphasis on product quality and thus demanding high quality and effective packaging.

TOPSIN® 500 SC is a systemic and contact fungicide produced by Alchimex in partnership with Nippon Soda, Japan. It is formulated as suspension concentrate with methyl thiophanate as active ingredient (500 g/l). The recommended use is for seed and vegetation period treatments on a wide range of crops including cereals, sun-flower, rapeseed, orchards or vegetables. For TOPSIN® 500 SC Alchimex chose the Agrochem HDPE 5L canister produced by Argo Rom. The canister fits with 63mm tamper evident cap with liner incorporated.

AlCHIMex’ toPsIn® 500 sC in Argo Rom’s canisters


ethylene oxide (eto) sterilization process

Since 1960 EtO gas has been used for the sterilization of medical devices and primary packaging materials for healthcare products, being one of the principal sterilization processes.It is a powerful alkylating agent and under proper conditions reacts with cellular constituents of organisms with consequent prevention of cell reproduction and eventually causes cell death.The EtO sterilization process involves exposure of products to a gas mixture of EtO and nitrogen in a vacuum-filled chamber

C2H4OEtO Sterilisation process is implemented in 3 stages:

1. Pre-conditioning: Proper packed products are preconditioned for about 24hours under raised temperature 40-60°C and relative humidity 45%-75%.

2. Sterilisation: the goods are transferred into the sterilization chamber, which is evacuated and flushed with nitrogen to remove air, then steam is injected into the chamber to secure the proper moisture content and finally EtO is introduced till the required concentration is achieved.

3. De-Gassing: The sterilization chamber and the goods are then repeatedly flushed with nitrogen or air to remove the remaining gas. After post sterilization flushing, the goods are transferred to an aeration cell for de-gassing, where it subjected to high rates of air change close to the sterilization process for about 12 hours. Usually an extra aeration is taken place in storage at 25-35°C temperature for up to 7 days, to ensure the complete removal of EtO residues.

The increased regulatory and environmental demands led to process improvements and today this is carried out in a quite sophisticated and technologically advanced way.Even though gamma sterilization remains the most common sterilization process for plastic devices and packages, in some cases, EtO sterilization is preferred due to packaging material or content compatibility reasons. ARGO, as known, has been offering gamma sterilized products since 1994. Today we offer EtO sterilized packaging materials as well. Collaborating with experienced sterilizing plants, we prepare the goods in proper secondary packaging to accept this treatment and take care for the logistics. In each case,a complex validation study is carried out in advance, according ISO11135 in order to set the critical parameters for the sterilization of a definite article.


Programme: «Development of bio-refinery for the conversion of biodiesel production residues to biodegradable polymers and high added value products»

Partners: 1. ARGO SA - Coordinator 2. Agricultural University of Athens, Food Science and Technology Department3. The Institute of Chemical Engineering and High Temperature Chemical Processes (ICE-HT)4. CHIMAR HELLAS SA5. P.N.PETTAS SA

ReseARCH ACtIvItY At ARGo

Operational programme «Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship» (OPCE ΙΙ) of the Ministry of Development for the Period 2007 – 2013

The viability of sustainable technologies for the production of biofuels, chemicals, biodegradable plastics, biomaterials and food can only be achieved through the development of biorefineries that convert renewable raw materials through integrated physical, (thermo)chemical and biological processes into the same or new products that are currently derived through (petro)chemical processing. Bioref will focus on the development of a novel biorefinery that will utilise residual streams from a first generation biodiesel production industrial plant (Pettas) for the production of biodegradable plastics, with potential application in food packaging, value-added food additives and biomaterials.Project is the production of recycled polypropylene for use in applications of similar or even higher demands compared to the original ones.


packaging solutions for successful products

ARGO S.A. 1st km Koropiou - Varis str., P.0.BOX

87, 19400 Koropi, Greece

Tel. +30 210 6625501,

+ 30 210 6626691-5,

Fax: + 30 210 6625500,

e-mail: [email protected]

ARGO ROM PLASTICS S.A 211 - 249 Drumul Dealul

Bradului str., Sect. 4 Bucharest,

Romania,

Tel. +40 215 393262 - 7,

Fax: + 40 215 393264,


ARGO EGYPT PLASTICS S.A.E.Plot 10, Block 13002,

1st Industrial Zone El Obour City,

El Obour, Cairo, Egypt

Tel. 002 02 46101761-3,

Fax: 002 02 46101769,


www.argo-sa.gr

serving the cold chain - argo s.a · serving the cold chain last miles medshell | in packaging...

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