German efficiency in nutritional supplements

“Made in Germany” is the real motto of Vital Products GmbH, the Bavarian contract producer of nutritional supplements. Established in 2002, the company distributes all over the world diet foods, food supplements and pet food supplements, exclusively produced in Germany.
From the highly specialized production site, Vital Products GmbH provides its customers with experience and know-how to ensure the most consistent product quality, to develop new ideas and to optimize the process design. Indeed the whole production process is monitored and controlled by Vital Product’s specialized technicians and by the microbiological laboratory in order to guarantee a complete support from the development of the product to the assembly and packaging.
This particular knowledge and support is fundamental in the production of capsules which are the most common dosage form for diet foods and food supplements as they allow easy formulation of different products with minimal cost. They are increasingly being favored due to product differentiation, dose flexibility and improved speed-to-market. “In order to provide our customers with a diverse range of high quality products within short lead times, highly flexible manufacturing environment with a full in-process control is mandatory” states M. Maschewski, Technical Manager of the company. That’s why Vital Products GmbH chose Adapta 200 for its manufacturing site in Waldsassen, Germany. 

Which was the most restrictive requirement for the new capsule filler you were looking for?

Among other controlled-release drug delivery systems, multiple dosage forms are associated
with better patient compliance, less risk of tampering and lower product costs, moreover product combination is generally easier with capsules compared to tablets. The most restrictive requirement for the capsule filler was to have multi product dosing at high speed supported by 100% automatic control of gross and net weight. We find this on Adapta: its exceptional design flexibility allow to dose up to 3 products in the same capsule as its dosing units are interchangeable and can be easily removed.
Moreover, once the machine panels are opened the working area is completely accessible making cleaning operations very easy.

What was your main reasons for choosing Adapta 200?

We have had several requirements for the new capsule filling machine. The main focus was on increasing our manufacturing capacity and capability to fulfill our customers demands. Due to that, we were looking for a machine with high speed and low down-times. At the same time we had to maintain or even increase the high standard quality of our products.
Overall, we were looking for a state of the art capsule handling and performance system and accuarte dosing at high speed to provide excellent quality products with reasonable costs to our customers.

Which three main criteria do you appreciate the most in the machine?

Flexibility, accuracy and speed this is the most simple way to describe Adapta 200 in three words. Flexibility because the dosing units are easily removable and interchangeable, allowing a plug-and-play shift among different machine configurations and filling combinations.
A full production control is achieved due to individual product dosage checking and 100% control of gross and/or net weight, ending up in high accuracy and repeatability. Moreover the processing area is fully accessible leading to easy inspection and maintenance operations, which results in superior quality of the final product by short manufacturing times. 

How was the collaboration with IMA?

The entire process, i.e. from the offer phase until the final installation of the machine and the on-site training of operators and technicians, demonstrated high professionalism and customer orientation. Relevant support was always available according to VP needs and within given time slots.

Any future project?

We would like to increase our manufacturing capabilites further and therefore, we are currenlty checking and verifying several machines and processes. The results will be discussed with IMA onwards further projects for both improvement and/or replacement of our machines.