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IF ANY CUSTOM manufacturer might be considered a phoenix risen from the ashes, it is Siegfried (USA) Inc. In 1999, a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning letter brought its predecessor, Ganes Chemical, to a near standstill and forced Siegfried Holding, the company's Swiss owner, to make a choice: either abandon the business or invest considerable money and manpower to bring it into compliance with current good manufacturing practices (cGMPs).
Three years and millions of dollars later, Siegfried (USA)'s Pennsville, N.J., site has been inspected twice by the FDA, the reactors are filling up, and the optimism among employees is strong. No longer Ganes, Siegfried (USA) has returned to profitability fully integrated with Siegfried Ltd.'s global business units.
The business is growing rapidly. Siegfried, a manufacturer of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and advanced intermediates based in Zofingen, Switzerland, saw its revenues for the first nine months of 2002 grow 19.6 percent over the year-ago period to SFr 272.3 million. Key products in exclusive synthesis are responsible for a large part of the growth, says Donald D. Bell, president of Siegfried (USA). Additionally, the Zofingen operation increased its effective capacity by going on line 24 hours a day, seven days a week. But the results also reflect the turnaround in Siegfried's US operations.
Ganes had once been quite profitable. Founded in 1928 as a Carlstadt, N.J.-based joint venture, the business, fully owned by Siegfried since 1952, was treated as a holding and allowed to manage its own affairs....