BGS to expand European social media communications

When it comes to social media communications, BGS is taking a new direction, and to this end, it is relying on the expertise of the Hamburg agency, Bamboo Consulting. Following a comprehensive agency screening process, the agency that specialises in B2B communications delivered a convincing tailor-made communications strategy for the social media channels of BGS.

“We have found a true expert in Bamboo Consulting for the communication of products and services requiring explanation in business-to business,” explained Dr. Andreas Ostrowicki, Managing Director of BGS. “The team has impressed us with its very sound knowledge and experience in the international technology sector and has presented a convincing social media concept. We are confident that with this, we shall strengthen our position in the market for irradiation services, while also optimally promoting the topics of our two business segments, namely radiation sterilization and radiation crosslinking.”

As of now, Bamboo Consulting will assume responsibility for the entire social media communications of BGS at European level – ranging from strategy development over continuous consulting and ongoing training to content development and marketing, as well as performance measurement.

Video report: COMPAMED.de reports on radiation sterilization at BGS

Many medical devices need to be sterilized before they are launched on the market or allowed to be used on patients. One possible procedure here is sterilization with beta or gamma rays. How does this technology function exactly? Which are the differences between the two types of irradiation, and how long does it take to sterilize devices?

In order to answer these questions, a camera team from COMPAMED.de visited BGS headquarters in Wiehl and interviewed our expert on radiation sterilization, Dipl.-Ing. Annett Heilmann. More information in the short video report “Radiation sterilization: Sterile medical devices quick and safe”.

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Headquarters Wiehl: BGS moves into new administration building

Headquarters Wiehl: BGS moves into new administration building

Following a two-year construction period, BGS moved into the new administration building at the headquarters in Wiehl in August 2020.

A modern office world spread over two floors, which facilitates communication and inter-departmental exchange: We are proud of our new working environment and look forward to welcoming our business partners, customers and suppliers in the new building with immediate effect.

All the familiar contact details of the contact partners in our company will remain the same. Likewise, the entrance to our company has not changed
(GPS: 50.967050, 7.530913). The address of our administration will be the following from now on:

BGS Beta-Gamma-Service GmbH & Co. KG
Fritz-Kotz-Straße 12
51674 Wiehl

We explicitly point out that the address of our business premises (Fritz-Kotz-Straße 16) has not changed and therefore all quality-related authorisations and documents will retain their validity!

You will find the directions here, making your journey to our facility easier, and for better orientation on our plant premises.

TOP 100: BGS once again named innovation champion

For the second time in a row, BGS was named TOP 100 innovator in the TOP 100 innovation competition. In the scientific selection procedure, our company convinced the jury in the size class B (51 – 200 employees), especially in the category “Innovation to promote top management”. BGS whose technology is employed both in the sterilization of medical devices amongst other things, and in the refinement of plastics, is currently involved in numerous development projects in the areas of lightweight construction and recycling.

“The TOP 100 award is a great opportunity for us to further raise awareness for our technology,” explains BGS Managing Director Dr. Andreas Ostrowicki. Taking a look at the innovations of the future, he sees great potential in replacing metals by processed plastics, for example, in the engine compartment of motor vehicles or in fuel cells. “Numerous R&D projects are currently running in the area of radiation crosslinking. Whether it involves weight reduction and lightweight construction, dealing with strong electrical currents, batteries or new production processes: The materials used are exposed to high temperatures and have to withstand extreme conditions. Radiation crosslinking can provide solutions for numerous applications now and in the future.”

In addition, the TOP 100 innovator is increasingly underlining the topic of sustainability. In this respect, BGS is presently collaborating on a process with the Technical University of Berlin, the University of Aalen and the partner nylon polymers for mechanical recycling of radiation crosslinked thermoplastics; the first results are expected in 2021.

About the TOP 100 competition

Since 1993, compamedia GmbH has awarded the TOP 100 seal of approval to small and medium-sized enterprises for outstanding innovative strength and above-average innovation achievements. Professor Dr. Nikolaus Franke has been scientific director since 2002. Dr. Franke is the founder and director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration. Mentor of TOP 100 is the science journalist Ranga Yogeshwar. Project partners are the Fraunhofer Society for the Promotion of Applied Research and the German Association for Small and Medium-sized Businesses (BVMW). As media partners, manager magazin, impulse and W&V support the comparisons between the companies. More information at www.top100.de.

BGS: Your reliable partner in times of the corona pandemic

 

Dear business partners,

The corona pandemic is a new challenge for all of us, in particular for the global healthcare sector. Numerous customers of ours from the areas of medicine technology, biotechnology, pharmaceutics, and research – and thus BGS as a partner and provider of sterilization services – have a special responsibility during these times: Our joint task is to provide supplies.

We would like to assure you as customers and business partners: At BGS, we are doing everything to make sure your orders are processed as quickly as possible and in the usual high quality. To this end, we have expanded our production capacities in the last weeks by reloading cobalt-60 at our gamma facility in Wiehl, we have established additional shifts, and increased among other things, the utilization for irradiation of medical consumables and in-vitro diagnostics by 25 to 30%.

Based on recommendations of the RKI (Robert Koch Institute) and the respective recommendations of operative pandemic planning, we have taken extensive preventative measures concerning the coronavirus. Our priorities are to protect our employees against an infection and to reduce the risk of an interruption of operations to a minimum. At the moment, the measures we are taking put us in a position to act and deliver to the fullest extent. We continue to observe the situation closely and will adjust our measures at short notice if need be.

Your contact person and our staff members from customer service are at your disposal and will be happy to answer any further queries.

Let us work together to deal with this exceptional situation in the best way possible – we are grateful for the trust you have placed in us.

Growth in the radiation sterilization business segment BGS records largest increase in turnover with biotechnological products

The market for medical biotechnology in Germany is growing – and with it, the need for sterilization services. In 2019, for example, BGS recorded an increase in turnover of around 30 percent with products from the biotechnology area. Bioreactors and culture media used in microbiological testing are some of the most frequently treated items.

In the business segment of radiation sterilization, BGS saw further significant increases in 2019 of approximately 24 percent for products from the areas of pharmaceutical primary packaging material and medical devices. The increases are attributed to the excellent situation in the medical technology market and the increased demand for gamma and beta sterilization as the preferred sterilization method of many manufacturers.

Business year 2020: Setting the course for market growth

The increases in the business segment of radiation sterilization provide for a steadily increasing capacity utilization of both gamma facilities at the locations in Wiehl and Bruchsal. “The positive development encourages us to pursue the path we have embarked on and shows that our investments of the last years have paid off,” comments Dr. Andreas Ostrowicki, Managing Director of BGS. The company commissioned a second gamma facility in 2018, and with the introduction of a modern ERP system, optimised numerous business processes and further improved the service quality. In order to ensure long-term customer support and promote market growth, BGS is investing 7 million euros in the current business year for the expansion of its capacity. The productive capacity of both gamma facilities will be increased, for example, through reloads using cobalt-60. In addition, a new logistics hall is being built in Bruchsal that will offer about 2,700 square metres of extra warehouse space by the end of 2020.

In the BGS gamma systems, a wide variety of consumables for laboratory, biotechnology and medical technology are sterilized without residue.

Business segment radiation crosslinking: E-mobility and building sector ensure positive development

With the help of gamma and beta rays, BGS refined about 10 percent more injection-moulded components in 2019 than in the same period last year. The increase in turnover is attributed to the increased demand in the automotive industry. This branch has a growing need for lightweight materials as steadily increasing demands are placed on the thermal, mechanical and chemical resilience of components. Furthermore, BGS recorded ongoing good growth with the crosslinking of piping and rod products used in district heating and cooling technology of urban infrastructure projects.

Automotive industry shows strong interest in radiation crosslinking

Numerous components manufactured from radiation crosslinked plastics are already being used in the engine compartment, for coverings, fastening elements, as well as for components in the interior and exterior area. “We recorded increased demand from automotive suppliers in 2019 and more projects in the area of injection moulding,” explained Dr. Andreas Ostrowicki, Managing Director of BGS. Radiation crosslinking offers new possibilities, especially for lightweight construction, as conventional plastics can also be qualified for demanding tasks using this refining technique. Crosslinked components show significantly improved properties in terms of heat and abrasion resistance, mechanical stability and creep behaviour. Ostrowicki also believes radiation crosslinking is becoming more interesting for the automotive industry in view of growing cost pressure: “Depending on the amount of the procurement costs for high-performance plastic, substituting it with a crosslinked material can lead to substantial direct savings. Other factors include reduced process costs, since radiation crosslinked compounds distinguish themselves through easy processing (e.g. low processing temperatures compared to high-performance plastics).”

Building sector also provides for increased turnover in area of radiation crosslinking

BGS registered a further increase of piping and rod products (around 10 percent) in 2019 over the previous year. The increases in this segment can be ascribed to a continuing good economy in the building sector – in particular, district heating and cooling systems of urban infrastructure projects process crosslinked piping. Radiation crosslinking ensures the performance characteristics of piping systems over a long period: It provides for improved creep behaviour at high temperatures and internal pressure, and consequently higher aging resistance. A major part of the piping systems is irradiated in Bruchsal with the help of a special handling system that tolerates dimensions of up to 12 metres for pipes and rods.

Business years 2020 and 2021: Modernisation and expansion at locations

After extensively modernising the electron accelerators at company headquarters in Wiehl, BGS is also investing millions of euros in the modernisation of the facilities and handling technology at the locations in Bruchsal and Saal a.d. Donau. Planning is underway in Bruchsal for the construction of a new logistics hall: A total of 2,700 square metres of new warehouse space will be created here by the end of 2020.

BGS Beta Gamma Ueber uns - Bestrahlungsexperte
Pipe systems are irradiated using a special handling system at the BGS site in Bruchsal.

Everything at one location: BGS is centralising its order processing at the company’s headquarters in Wiehl.

BGS has been a leading service provider in the area of industrial applications of beta and gamma rays for many years and it continues its steady expansion course. This also means that processes are regularly reviewed and continually optimised – especially for our customers. Apart from reliability and flexibility in the processing of orders, it is important to have constant contact persons – across all our locations.

As a result, BGS is further consolidating its administrative order processing. At our plant in Bruchsal, we have already completed this step successfully starting 1 November 2018. We are now taking the next step and shifting the administrative processing of orders from our location in Saal a.d. Donau to our headquarters in Wiehl.

The centralisation will take place on 1 April 2020.
The processing of all customer orders, coordination of dates, invoicing, as well as customer service will be exclusively controlled from the company’s headquarters as of this date, irrespective of the location where the goods are irradiated.

We have informed our customers by post in calendar week 7 about the centralisation of the order processing. We are happy to answer any questions about the changeover under +49 (0)2261 7899-0.

Compamed 2019: BGS is very satisfied with outcome of trade fair

Wiehl, 22 November 2019 – Compamed is over and Dr. Andreas Ostrowicki, Managing Director of BGS, sums up the trade fair positively. On one hand, the company was able to welcome more visitors to the BGS stand than in previous years. On the other hand, there was increasing interest in alternative sterilization methods and advice regarding second-source solutions following the ongoing critical coverage on ETO sterilization and facility shutdowns in the US market. Under the motto “Energy that changes everything”, BGS actively contributed to creating awareness for themes like validation and process integration of radiation sterilization, as well as giving advice on the related regulatory requirements.

“As leading provider of sterilization services and solutions in the area of industrial application of beta and gamma rays, Compamed is a fixed date each year for BGS,” comments Dr. Andreas Ostrowicki. “The trade fair has high priority for us as a platform to exchange views and ideas with industry representatives and business partners. Despite sustained growth in the industry, the mood among medical technology companies was slightly subdued. One of the main reasons for this is the transition period of the EU Medical Device Regulation which will soon be expiring, combined with the ensuing uncertainty of marketing medical devices.” Many manufacturers fear they will not be able to place their devices on the market in a timely manner due to longer evaluation procedures. Central themes of concern in the industry were also the question of ensuring the necessary sterilization capacities commensurate with market growth, as well as establishing second sources for sterilization.

Sterilization of medical devices: Attention shifts to reducing failure risks

“The talks at the trade fair showed that the demand for double qualifications and back-up solutions for manufacturers of medical devices is becoming increasing relevant,” explained Ostrowicki. “In the context of risk assessment, every manufacturer should ask himself what would happen if there was a shutdown in the plant commissioned with the sterilization services. The most recent cases in the US show that longer shutdowns not only result in severe financial losses, but may in certain circumstances also lead to considerable supply gaps on the market; creating a second source is therefore absolutely advisable. Here, it was necessary to examine in each case whether the device in question at the existing service provider could be qualified for a second facility, whether contracts should be concluded with an additional provider, or whether a qualification for another method of sterilization was the best prevention to forestall failure risks. BGS has been following the principle of ‘redundancy’ for years now. This means that each of the three locations of the company is able to take over the processes of the other locations, thus increasing the reliability in the production.

You will find further information about radiation sterilization of medical devices and consumables for laboratories and biotechnology, amongst other things, here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Professional article on the topic “Radiation crosslinking of films“ in the specialist magazine Kunststoffe international

Radiation crosslinking has long been used in the production of injection moulded parts. Radiation crosslinking of films, on the other hand, offers hitherto untapped potential for new appplications in the thermoforming of filled materials.

The following research results obtained at the Chair of Polymer Technology in Erlangen, Germany, together with BGS Beta-Gamma-Service, show among other things that the process window during thermoforming of filled films can be significantly widened by radiation crosslinking the semi-finished film articles.

You can download the complete article here as a PDF file.

(Kunststoffe international 10/2019, Authors: Lisa-Marie Wittmann, Dr. Dirk Fischer, Prof. Dr.-Ing Dietmar Drummer)