Romaco’s acquisition of Spanish manufacturer STE Tecpharm, S. L. will strengthen its position as turnkey supplier of processing technologies. In particular, Tecpharm’s patented drum coaters will complement Romaco Innojet’s granulating and fluid bed technologies.

On 16 March 2021, Romaco Holding GmbH announced the purchase of STE Tecpharm, S. L., the Spanish manufacturer of processing technology. From now on, the company will operate under the name Romaco Tecpharm, S. L. Romaco

has acquired initially 75 percent of the share capital of STE Tecpharm, S. L., which was currently owner-managed. The remaining 25 percent will be transferred subsequently. The acquisition of Tecpharm will further strengthen Romaco’s processing business. Tecpharm’s drum coaters, coupled with the company’s conventional granulation lines and Wurster fluid bed systems, make a perfect complement to the Romaco range for processing pharmaceutical solids.

“Our purchase of Tecpharm and its patented, high-tech tablet coating machines means we can significantly expand our portfolio as a single-source supplier for the pharmaceutical industry”, explains Jörg Pieper, CEO Romaco Group. “Tecpharm manufactures drum coaters with a reputation for economic efficiency, reliability and batch flexibility – and which fit in excellently with the products made by Innojet and Kilian as well as the quality standards they aspire to. This constellation will result in valuable synergistic effects, which we intend to leverage systematically in order to offer our customers latest-generation processing solutions. All from one source and cast from one mould. Our processing laboratories will serve as an important point of contact worldwide.”

Tecpharm was founded by David Mateo, Barbara Jané and Pedro Cuadrado in 2013 as a spin-off of the STE Group. The company employs about 30 people at its present site in Rubí (Spain), not far from the Barcelona metropolis. Tecpharm’s core competencies as a supplier of equipment for the pharmaceutical industry comprise the development, assembly and marketing of coating systems for tablets.

The manufacturer also has various technologies for laboratory and production scale wet granulation in its portfolio. Following the transaction, Tecpharm will operate as an independent, Spanish-based Business Unit of the Romaco Group.

Romaco Tecpharm, S. L. will be run by Mr. Mateo, the founder. “I regard the exit to Romaco as a milestone in our company’s short history to date”, emphasises David Mateo, Managing Director of Tecpharm, S. L. “Our integration into such a successful global player will create major growth opportunities for Tecpharm. Our high-quality products are unique and represent real added value for the Romaco Group. The support we get from Romaco’s worldwide sales and service network will allow us to expand the reach of these products enormously and boost our sales accordingly. What is more, Romaco is a very decentralised organisation, which will ease our integration with our new sister companies at eye level.”

This latest addition to the Romaco family takes the total number of production sites to five in Germany, Italy and Spain. The European pharmaceutical machinery specialist maps the entire process chain with technologies for manufacturing, processing and packing pharmaceutical solids. The processing segment will in future be made up of the Romaco Innojet, Romaco Kilian and Romaco Tecpharm product brands and their wet granulation, pellet coating, tableting and tablet coating technologies.

“The acquisition of Tecpharm, S. L. is a great chance for us to give our processing brands a sharper product profile”, Jörg Pieper continues. “The aim is to establish Tecpharm as the dominant supplier of coating systems for tablets. Innojet will focus on granulating and coating fine solid particles. Tecpharm’s complementary technologies in this area will be integrated into the Innojet portfolio. That way, we will be optimally positioned across the board.”

Romaco Group

Romaco is a leading international supplier of processing and packaging equipment specialising in engineering technologies for pharmaceutical solids. The Group provides individual machines, lines and turnkey solutions for manufacturing and packing powders, granulates, pellets, tablets, capsules, syringes and medical devices. The company also serves the food and chemical industries. Through its various technologies, Romaco is committed to sustainable production and to systematically reducing CO2 emissions. The Romaco Group has its headquarters in Karlsruhe (Germany) and is part of the Truking Group, a globally operating high-tech enterprise based in Changsha (China). Truking’s core competency is handling and filling pharmaceutical liquids. Romaco operates from five European business sites, with a broad portfolio comprised of seven established product brands. Noack and Siebler (Karlsruhe, Germany) supply blister, heat-sealing and rigid tube filling machines. Macofar (Bologna, Italy) markets technologies for filling sterile and non-sterile powders and liquids. Promatic (also Bologna, Italy) specializes in cartoners, track & trace systems and case packers. Kilian (Cologne, Germany) is a leading manufacturer of tablet presses. Innojet (Steinen, Germany) is in the business of granulating and coating fine solid particles. Tecpharm (Rubí, Spain) offers tablet coating technologies.

More than 800 highly skilled and committed Romaco employees are dedicated to the development of future product technologies and to the continuous implementation of internal improvement processes. Romaco’s multi-brand system solutions are sold worldwide through eight Sales & Service Centres and a dense network of local agent organisations. Over 12,000 installations delivered by Romaco are currently in use in more than 180 different countries.