L.B. Bohle

L.B. Bohle Maschinen und Verfahren GmbH (L.B. Bohle) is one of the world’s most technologically innovative and respected builders of specialist machines for the pharmaceutical industry, specializing in batch and continuous tablet manufacture.

Based at Ennigerloh in Northwest Germany, L.B. Bohle operates worldwide, offering advanced solutions for every aspect of oral solid dose (OSD) and nutraceutical tablet production, including weighing & dosing, grinding & sieving, blending, tablet coating, sorting, handling systems, cleaning and containment, process monitoring and continuous manufacturing.

Vision & Mission

The guiding vision for L.B. Bohle is one of technological innovation in the production of pharmaceutical solids. This supports a core mission to deliver continuous product efficiency increases for its customers, through continuous development and product innovations that not only increase quality and efficiency, but also strengthen competitive edge and sustainability through safety, efficiency, longevity, and resource-protecting production. To these ends, L.B. Bohle offers both complete production lines and solutions for individual production steps, focusing on rapid development and production of sophisticated, pragmatic, and customized applications.

Technologies 

L.B. Bohle’s commitment to innovation and continuous technological development is reflected in the more than 55 patents and utility models it holds around the world, with significant developments in the fields of coating, granulation, and continuous manufacturing.

Its most significant technological advances include the QbCon® Continuous Manufacturing System, all coating applications, and Bohle Uni Cone BUC® Fluidized Bed Technology.

Activities/Products

L.B. Bohle’s extensive product portfolio covers all key aspects of pharmaceutical OSD manufacturing. Its product areas include:

• Wet and Dry Granulation: The processing of solids for pharmaceutical tablets and medicines. L.B. Bohle offers in this area include BFS Fluidized-bed Granulation and Drying machines, GMA High-Shear granulators, VMA Single-Pot granulators, BCG Twin-screw granulators, and BRC Dry Granulation systems.
• Grinding & Sieving: State-of-the-art systems for reducing granule size, including BTS Sieving Machines, BRS Rotation Sieves, and BTM Hammer Mills.
• Blending: The mixing of powders for homogeneity and uniformity. Solutions here include PM Container Blenders, and LM Laboratory Blenders.
• Tablet Coating: B. Bohle is a technology leader in the demanding field of pharmaceutical tablet coating that involves spraying, blending, and drying process steps. Solutions include BFC Film Coaters, BTC Tablet Coaters, the revolutionary KOCO® Continuous Coater, and the BFC 5 Laboratory Coater.
• Tablet Sorting: Since its founding, L. B. Bohle has been a leader in the mechanical checking of the thickness of sugar-coated or film-coated tablets. The latest generation of its KA Tablet Checker series can process up to one million tablets per hour.
• Handling & Container systems: B. Bohle has developed many optimized solutions for the sensitive handling of pharmaceutical products, including HS Lifting Columns, the BSL Drum Handling system, ROB 50 Tablet Container handling, PTH Telescope Lifter and the cGMP BDS Docking station for contained charging, along with a diverse range of round, square, mobile, or stationary containers.
• Continuous Manufacturing: Many L.B. Bohle systems, such as BRC Roller Compactor, BCG Twin-Screw Granulator, BCD Dryer, and KOCO® Coater support continuous or semi-continuous manufacturing. L.B. Bohle has taken a decisive further step into this area with the recent development of the modular and flexible QbCon® Continuous Manufacturing plant that allows for production of pharmaceutical solids from powder to the coated tablet with a throughput from 5 to 25 kg/h, along with the QbCon® 1 R&D system that allows truly continuous granulation and drying for the first time.
• Cleaning: A series of applications for cleaning machines and systems for GMP compliance and faster changeovers. These include PUR Container Cleaning system, CDS Container Dryer, and BCM Wash In Place (WIP) module.
• Containment: B. Bohle offers various containment solutions for both handling and process machines. Many integrated applications for granulation, coating or linked processes were built in the last years.
• Process Monitoring: B. Bohle offers its b.sure® app as a platform to enable shared and remote process control by linking operating data and process data via a communication server to mobile devices and PC workstations.

Company History and Structure

Founder Lorenz Bohle branched out from a successful career as the head of a special machines department to establish his new company L.B. Bohle in 1981 as a manufacturer of specialist machinery, initially offering the KA tablet checker. By 1987, the company had developed its own design container blender and in 1990 established a North American subsidiary, L.B. Bohle LLC, at Warminster, PA, in the USA.

Over the subsequent years, L.B. Bohle continued to innovate, introducing its proprietary designs for a Single Pot Granulator (1991), BFC Tablet Coater (1998), Tangential Fluidized-bed Processor (2003), BTC Tablet Coater (2007), Twin-screw granulator (2009), patented KOCO® Continuous Coater (2010), and Dry Granulator (2012).

The company took a further significant technological step forwards in 2017 as a leader in continuous manufacturing with the introduction of the QbCon® series for wet and dry granulation and direct compression, followed the next year by the launch of the QbCon® 1  R&D solution for continuous granulation and drying.

The company operates four development and manufacturing facilities: three at its home base at Ennigerloh and a further plant at Sassenberg, both near Münster in North Rhine-Westphalia.

In addition, L.B. Bohle has sales and service subsidiaries in the USA (Warminster, PA) in India (Ahmedabad) , in Singapore and in Switzerland (Reiden). It is also represented by more than 40 qualified sales partners worldwide, having become a globally recognized brand.

Lorenz Bohle remains Chairman of the Advisory Board at L.B. Bohle. Since 2017, Executive Directors Tim Remmert and Thorsten Wesselmann have guided management of the company.

Quality, Regulatory and Standards

L.B. Bohle’s success has been based on continuous innovation and engineering excellence, backed up by comprehensive service and customer support.

It ensures product quality by retaining manufacturing in Germany, supported by continuous development and qualification at its Ennigerloh R&D Centre and Testing Facility, Technology Center and Service Center.

The company is certificated for DIN EN ISO 9001, ISO 140001 and DIN 16247-1 quality standards, along with Examination Certificates.

Click on L.B. Bohle Viewer to take a virtual tour of the company’s technology center’.