The History of GEA Lyophil

GEA Lyophil is one of the market leaders in the Freeze Drying / Lyophilization technology serving the pharma and biotech industry. With more than 55 years of experience and a reference record of over 1000 Freeze Dryer installations worldwide, GEA Lyophil is a reliable and quality assuring partner within the aseptic production corridor, certified with ISO 9001 and performing in full compliance with the cGMP, GAMP and other relevant guidelines

History

1951 - Leybold in Cologne builds its first laboratory freeze-dryer.

1960 - Manufacture of the first Lyovac® pilot and production freeze dryers for the pharmaceutical and food industry. In the following years, Leybold becomes one of the leading manufacturers in the field of freeze-drying technology and receives numerous patents for future-oriented systems, e. g.: BTM (Barometric Temperature Measurement) to determine the temperature at the ice surface of a product, PRM (Pressure Rise Measurement) to determine the end of the drying process, TLC (Thermodynamic Lyophilization Control) to monitor and control freeze-drying processes without the need of measuring the temperature in the product, and Automatic loading and unloading systems for freeze-dryers.

1978 - Leybold converts its pharmaceutical freeze-drying department into an independent business division.

1990 - The Finn-Aqua Santasalo-Sohlberg Corporation, Finland, acquires the Leybold pharmaceutical freeze-drying division as an independent subsidiary for manufacturing, marketing, and worldwide sales.

1992 - The Amsco International Corporation, U.S.A., and the Finn- Aqua Corporation merge thus creating a broad range of high quality systems for the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries.

1996 - The Steris Corporation, U.S.A., and Amsco International Corporation agree that Steris Corporation will take over all stock holdings and all international activities of Amsco International Corporation. .

2005 - The Process Engineering division of the GEA Group acquire the company and change the name to GEA Lyophil GmbH. GEA Lyophil has expanded the technologies of GEA Pharma Systems and sits along side Aeromatic-Fielder, Buck Systems, Collette, Courtoy, GEA Niro (Buck Valve) and Niro (pharma div.)

GEA Lyophil GmbH offers a complete programme of high quality products associated with all aspects of aseptic manufacturing and integrated solutions in addition to efficient service for the pharmaceutical, healthcare, and biotech industries.