Focus on BWT France's new pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and biotech division

As part of the Group's strategy, BWT France is stepping up its structuring and the specialisation of its teams to better meet the challenges of the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and cosmetics sectors.

Highlights

Sustained growth: over the past 5 years, constant and significant growth in the pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and biotechnology sectors, thanks to an experienced international team and a portfolio of international customers.

Ambitious objectives: with its new dedicated division, the BWT Group intends to double its business volume in these sectors by 2030.

The BWT Group has established itself as a major player in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector. This remarkable performance is the result of the excellence of its subsidiaries around the world, particularly in Scandinavia, Germany, Switzerland, China, India, Ireland, Spain, Italy, the United States and France.

To support this rapid expansion, BWT has deployed an ambitious investment strategy. The Group has considerably strengthened its production infrastructures for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. The acquisition of GDN in Italy has expanded its product offering, while the expansion of the Aesch site in Switzerland, which has quadrupled its surface area, the new production site in Ireland and the tripling of its production site in the United States (MA) illustrate the significant increase in production capacity. These developments complement existing facilities in Boston, USA and Asia, consolidating the Group's international presence and meeting the needs of its pharma and biotech customers, whose activities require facilities on a global scale.

BWT's growth strategy is based on an innovative product approach, focusing on R&D to differentiate itself in the market. The group also aims to develop new customer services. BWT's position as a manufacturer and service provider thus strengthens its position as a leader in water treatment for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

The BWT Group aims to double its share of sales in the Pharma & Biotech markets. To achieve this goal, the company relies on the cutting-edge expertise of its teams. The technicians have received in-depth training to master the specific challenges of these industries. This approach reinforces the value chain already made up of experts specialising in this sector, ensuring a detailed understanding of the needs of manufacturers, so that we can support them as closely as possible, at every stage of their own developments.

In this context, the French market is a priority for the Group, which has seen growth of more than 30% over the last two years. This remarkable performance has been accompanied by a tripling of service contracts over the same period, testifying to the growing confidence of French customers on an international scale in the expertise and solutions offered by BWT France.

Between now and 2025, more than 100 employees will be designing, building, qualifying, commissioning and maintaining equipment for pharmaceutical, cosmetics and biotech companies.

BWT F rance has undertaken an extensive training programme for its teams, which began over two years ago. All its technicians have already been trained and have undergone a hyper-specialisation process in order to master all the specific challenges and needs for excellence in these industrial processes. This technical team has an average of more than 8 years' experience and has benefited from several thousand hours of training in 2024 alone.

This process has enabled employees to deepen their knowledge of current regulations, in particular Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and the European Pharmacopoeia, as well as the recommendations of the ISPE (International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering). In addition, these training courses have focused on mastering equipment and systems specific to the pharmaceutical industry, as well as metrology.

To strengthen its expertise, BWT France benefited from the know-how and feedback of the BWT Academy, BWT Deutschland (Germany) and the Group's Swiss subsidiary. These intra-Group training courses have been enhanced by partners, providing in-depth knowledge not only of their latest innovations but also, and above all, of all their installations.

 “We are enthusiastic about the Group's global ambitions in the Pharma & Biotech markets," explains Raphael Gallais, Director of Operations at BWT France. Growth is evident, particularly in France, where our portfolio has tripled since 2021. But technical expertise is not enough. Specialist management is crucial to navigate the regulatory, ethical and commercial complexities unique to this sector. Our ambition is clear: to double our market share in pharma, cosmetics and biotech, and establish ourselves as a world leader, by capitalising on our international presence. We have given ourselves the means to achieve this".

This specialisation gives our teams a high level of expertise, enabling them to make accurate diagnoses, advise customers and optimise installations to achieve a perfect balance between innovative equipment, meeting needs and reducing costs. But above all, this specialisation enables us to provide a quality of service and rapid interventions that guarantee continuity of production and maintain high standards in the sector, in compliance with regulations. 

Data management for improved traceability, implementation of predictive maintenance processes and compliance with the data integrity standard; environmental efficiency; reduction of the carbon footprint: these are the themes consolidated by this new division, and which will be reinforced by a management team also specialising in the challenges of the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. This will enable more effective communication between the teams and customers, greater proximity and complete mastery of the issues and technical challenges by the entire value chain.

 “The creation of a specialised Pharma & Biotech division at BWT France was an obvious move," says Pierre Cullmann, Pharma & Biotech Market Manager at BWT France. “Thanks to this division, we can guarantee operational and technical excellence, which our teams have been mastering for several years. This undeniable lead in the market enables us to meet the strict standards and specific needs of this constantly evolving sector, and to continue our development with double-digit growth ".

This hyper-specialisation approach, which extends to all the Group's priority areas of operation, is based on the excellence of BWT's equipment and the cutting-edge expertise of its teams. This restructuring, aimed at optimising customer service, will continue into 2025, guaranteeing tangible benefits for all BWT customers, whatever their sector of activity.

BWT Pharma & Biotech: take a look at the Group's website