10% Growth For Pharmaceutical Packaging Alliance

Edited by the Printingtalk editorial team Sep 14, 2005

Copapharm Europe, the alliance of specialist packaging companies, has strengthened its sales in the European pharmaceutical packaging sector with healthy forward growth anticipated.

Copapharm Europe, the alliance of specialist packaging companies, has strengthened its sales in the European pharmaceutical packaging sector with healthy forward growth anticipated.

2004 figures just released by the alliance show a total turnover of 218.6m Euros (£131.1m), an increase of 10 per cent on the previous year.

Pharmaceutical and healthcare took a dominant 84 per cent share, up from 2003's 81 per cent, an increase of three per cent in that area.

Other areas of operation in 2004 included bodycare and consumer products.

Copapharm Europe companies specialise in cartons, labels, leaflets and associated services for customers that include a number of multi-national businesses.

President of the Copapharm alliance, Bruno Chorzelewski, put the 2004 figures down to strong local relationships, despite the alliance offering a pan-European service.

He said: "It is at the point of the customer interface with the local supplier that the real strength of those relationships is forged.

We have built on that strength by developing new opportunities and offering new technology, without losing sight of the importance of a consistent, high-quality service." Internal benchmarking and internal CE standards for Braille have been instigated and Copapharm Europe said that it is continuing to develop new packaging standards in the areas of anti-counterfeiting.

In 2004 the alliance, acquired Italian alliance member Palladio's sister company Grafica-Zannini, an Italian cartons and leaflets producer, which joined Copapharm.

Chorzelewski continued: "We hope 2005 will see us make further significant gains in market share in the sector, increasing the overall strength of the Copapharm alliance and what it can offer customers." Copapharm's member companies have a total of 19 manufacturing sites across Europe, in Italy, Germany, Belgium, France, Spain, Serbia, the UK and Ireland and those companies work closely, both individually and collectively, with pharmaceutical manufacturers to create appropriate packaging requirements.