Sartorius Stedim Biotech’s subsidiary, Sartorius Stedim North America, has entered into an exclusive cooperation and supply agreement with Paul Mueller Co. (PMC), covering the U.S., Canada, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Sartorius Stedim Biotech will supply stainless steel systems, such as fermentors, bioreactors, freeze-thaw systems and crossflow and other filtration systems. The two companies will continue to offer their own products in addition to the products offered jointly under the agreement.
   
Sartorius Stedim Biotech will be closing its production facility for stainless steel systems in Bethlehem, PA, and plans to focus on customer-specific application engineering as well as installation and servicing of its stainless steel systems at its site in Springfield. The company will continue to manufacture these systems for Europe and Asia, at its production facilities in Melsungen, Germany and Bangalore, India.
   
Paul Mueller Co., based in Springfield, MO, manufactures processing systems for the biopharmaceutical industry. The company’s automated fabrication and machining capabilities include approximately 1 million sq. ft. of manufacturing space and more than 1,200 employees in research, engineering and the manufacture of stainless steel systems for a wide variety of industrial applications.
   
“Our customers need innovative disposable systems and classic stainless steel systems as well as combinations of both. As of now, we can offer both in an even better way with regard to applications expertise, technology and engineering of stainless steel systems. The combined strengths of Sartorius Stedim Biotech and [PMC] are a perfect match: our solutions expertise and our competence in disposable technologies combined with the outstanding position of [PMC] as a leading firm in process system manufacturing with cutting-edge production technology for stainless steel equipment are unparalleled. At the same time, this partnership enables us to focus on our activities even more strongly and provides a maximum leverage of resources and economies of scale,“ said Joachim Kreuzburg, chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Sartorius Stedim Biotech.
   
“This agreement provides access to market segments in which we are not currently participating, and advances both companies’ desire to provide a complete ‘one-stop’ process solution capability to the marketplace,” said Matt Detelich, chief executive officer and president of Paul Mueller Co.