Gerteis to host expert seminars on dry granulation and roller compaction

Jona, Switzerland: – Roller compaction and dry granulation leaders Gerteis Maschinen + Processengineering AG (Gerteis) is to host closely related expert seminars on their core technologies in mid-September.

The first seminar (September 17-18, 2018) will promote deeper understanding of Roller Compaction Technology, closely followed by a further seminar on developing granulates with roller compaction technology (September 20-21).

Both seminars will be conducted in English and hosted at the Gerteis headquarters in Jona, Switzerland, with overnight accommodation provided in nearby hotels.

Understanding Roller Compaction Technology

The first seminar on ‘Understanding Roller Compaction Technology: Theoretically and practically’ is intended for practitioners working in the field of Galenical development, process optimization and production. A series of lectures and hands-on sessions will provide the audience of up to 24 delegates with basic information, as well as in depth knowledge on dry granulation.

The first day sessions will include an introduction to process principles, machine construction, functional parts, densification between rollers, and briefing on the variable gap principle, followed by ‘hands on’ session exploring the influence of gap and force on ribbon properties, powder draw -in and options to influence particle size distribution (PSD).

Day Two will start with another hands-on session on monitoring granulate properties, control mechanisms, troubleshooting, scale-up aspects, technology and overall evaluation of the Gerteis Pactor©-and Polygran© roller compaction platforms.

Roller Compaction in Dry Granulate Development

The second seminar on “Roller Compaction Trials in Development of Dry Granulates” is intended for those developing dry granulates for production, ideally with some experience with roller compaction.

This series of lectures and hands-on sessions will explore the basics of roller compaction, examine variable parameters influencing granulate properties and focus on how to perform first experiments and will include sessions on:

• Identifying parameters, setting up a trial schedule and the process principles of roller compaction in dry granulation, including densification between rollers
• Understanding the influences of “at-gap” density, powder draw-in and PSD on product properties
• First Experiments in Developing a Dry Granulate, choosing excipients and platform selection

Mini-Pactor® and Macro-Pactor® modeling

In both seminars, theoretical sessions are closely linked with the hands-on experience, using a Gerteis Mini-Pactor® to simulate lab scale conditions, scaling up to production scale conditions as modelled on a Macro-Pactor®. The intimate hands-on sessions, limited to six participants at a time, are intended to model real-life scenarios.

Both seminars will also be addressed by a panel of expert speakers including co-founder of Solids Development Consult GmbH, Dr. Barbara Fretter. Dr. Fretter is noted for her academic studies on the deformation behavior of powders.

The expert speakers will also include two Gerteis leaders: Dipl. Ing. Hartmut vom Bey who heads the company’s R&D department and is responsible for key technology projects and academic collaborations, along with Dipl. Ing. Herbert Holzinger, who leads the team supporting Gerteis customers with roller compaction technical issues.

About Gerteis

Gerteis Maschinen + Processengineering AG is a Swiss-based company that has rapidly established itself as a world leader in the field of premium roller compactors. The company’s products and services cover all aspects of dry granulation processes, with unparalleled experience in this field built up since the company was founded in 1986.

Gerteis manufactures a wide range of high quality containment roller compactors that are versatile enough to process a vast range of powders, even notoriously problematic ones at both laboratory and production scales. The company’s patented technologies are widely used by the pharmaceutical, chemical and food industries.

Rapidly increasing demand recently forced the company to move from its original site in Jona on the shores of Lake Zurich to larger and purpose designed premises nearby, in a move completed at the end of 2013.

As well as manufacturing machinery, Gerteis offers complete solution packages that help customers increase productivity including support on identifying ideal formulations and in-house training courses on dry granulation processing. Gerteis constantly seeks to expand its knowledge on dry granulation, participating in numerous research collaborations with German universities.