For many companies, remote support looks like this: a technician discovers a problem and calls a colleague to walk through the solution. Hours on the phone might lead to a fast solution – or the facility could face a prolonged shutdown.
The Polpharma pharma plant in Starogard Gdański, Poland knew this scenario well. This plant is the only Polpharma facility in Poland that produces large-scale active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), or the active substances for the manufacture of finished drug forms.
Their annual production capacity is 3.9 billion tablets and capsules, and 118 million units in liquid form (injection preparations in polyethylene packaging and glass ampoules, as well as infusion fluids and liquids for external use). Annual API production is 600 tons.
Their broad and varied portfolio and years of experience allow Polpharma to offer modern products and solutions to pharmaceutical companies worldwide. About 20% of the substances they manufacture are used for the production of their own finished drug forms. The rest are intended for external companies, 95% of which is exported, mainly to other EU countries and to North America, Latin America, North Africa, Korea and Japan. They are present on six continents, and their market position is growing.
So when something goes wrong, the shutdown can affect millions of people.
