SteriPack building facility in United States

Daphne Allen

January 20, 2016

3 Min Read
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SteriPack, an international company converting medical packaging materials and providing contract manufacturing, contract engineering, and ISO 17025 accredited testing services, has purchased a facility for its first U.S. based operations. The 40,000-sq-ft building sits on five acres in Lakeland, FL, near two international airports and major ports, reports Tony Paolino, president, SteriPack USA. The location positions SteriPack to serve both U.S.-based manufacturers looking to export as well as international firms seeking to serve the U.S. market, Paolino states.

“Many of the global medical device companies we have been servicing for the last 18 years have been urging us to fill out our global presence with a U.S. location,” he adds, referencing SteriPack’s existing facilities in Ireland, Poland, and Malaysia. “Many of these are in fact U.S. companies that have been using SteriPack elsewhere,” he adds.

The new facility in Lakeland, FL.

SteriPack will fashion its Lakeland facility after those other locations. “We are gearing up to bring SteriPack’s concept to the United States,” Paolino explains, describing it as being “transparent with all the necessary monitoring and security. Our concept entails situating the office for operation management and support right in the cleanroom, allowing for immediate interface,” he says. “Visitors to the facility will be able to enter the lobby and look right into the ISO Class 8 cleanroom production 
facilities.”

Over the next several months, SteriPack will be installing what Paolino calls “the same equipment used in our other facilities, purchased to our specifications. We will also be following the same processing and quality standards, so that we offer customers consistency from facility to facility. Everyone wants back-up manufacturing today, so this new location will add to our ability to offer continuity of supply.”

The first lines will include slitting, cutting, and printing equipment for producing chevron-style and corner-peel pouches, header bags, and the firm’s Steribag, an alternative to header bags. “Using uncoated Tyvek and polyethylene, the Steribag can save users up to 15%,” he adds.

SteriPack USA will run the same equipment used in its other facilities to offer customers consistency.

Converting in Lakeland should begin by the end of Summer 2012, Paolino reports. “We should have two to three complete lines running, and the facility will be set up to be able to quickly expand,” he says.

The facility can also expand to accommodate contract packaging and manufacturing.

“Contract manufacturing will be driven by market demand, so today we are not sure what that will be yet,” says Paolino. “We provide injection molding and assembly services at our other locations, and we have also assisted customers with FDA 510(k) applications and CE marking. We are not afraid to make investments to meet customer needs.”

Contract engineering and package and material testing services may also be available in the future, as they are in Ireland and Poland.

SteriPack is also pursuing ISO 13485 certification, which Paolino expects to happen in time for the late summer opening.

SteriPack USA will situate operation management and support in the cleanroom, as it does in its other facilities.

Gary Leonard, SteriPack’s technical manager in Ireland, will move to oversee operations as vice president of operations in Lakeland. “He understands the DNA of our company,” Paolino says. In addition, Paolino expects to employ 20–25 employees.

SteriPack did consider U.S. locations in the Midwest, Northeast, and Southeast, as well as those in Costa Rica. “We decided on Lakeland given the area’s good labor pool and existing medical device companies,” Paolino says.

Other SteriPack facilities continue to evolve, too. “Poland is on the cusp of expansion,” says Paolino. “And we just received our pharmaceutical license from the Malaysian governing body to store and pack pharmaceutical products on site, allowing us to offer blister packaging services of tablets and capsules for pharmaceuticals.”

For more details visit www.steripackgroup.com or booth 1421 at MD&M West.

About the Author

Daphne Allen

Design News

Daphne Allen is editor-in-chief of Design News. She previously served as editor-in-chief of MD+DI and of Pharmaceutical & Medical Packaging News and also served as an editor for Packaging Digest. Daphne has covered design, manufacturing, materials, packaging, labeling, and regulatory issues for more than 20 years. She has also presented on these topics in several webinars and conferences, most recently discussing design and engineering trends at MD&M West 2024 and leading an Industry ShopTalk discussion during the show on artificial intelligence. She will be moderating the upcoming webinar, Best Practices in Medical Device Engineering and will be leading an Automation Tour at Advanced Manufacturing Minneapolis. She will also be attending DesignCon and MD&M West 2025.

Daphne has previously participated in meetings of the IoPP Medical Device Packaging Technical Committee and served as a judge in awards programs held by The Tube Council and the Healthcare Compliance Packaging Council. She also received the Bert Moore Excellence in Journalism Award in the AIM Awards in 2012.

Follow Daphne on X at @daphneallen and reach her at [email protected].

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