BGS is expanding into the US
There’s a New Player in the American Medical Devices Market: At its new location in Pittsburgh, PA, BGS will specialize in fully automated E-Beam irradiation. The aim is to establish a safe and effective alternative to gamma and EtO sterilization for medical devices. BGS US will start operating in mid-2025. More on the new website www.bgs-us.com.
Wiehl, Germany, September 10, 2024 – The US is the largest and most innovative medical technology market in the world and continues to experience sustained growth. This increases the demand for sterile medical devices and consistently accessible sterilization capacity. The most widely used techniques in the US sterilization market have historically been gamma irradiation and treatment with EtO. Yet the supply chain effects have been worsened by uncertainties surrounding the environmental risks of EtO, and the recent supply-demand imbalance of Cobalt-60 is also a cause for concern. Viable alternatives such as e-beam sterilization are not as widespread in the US.
With fully automated E-Beam irradiation, BGS is now creating additional capacity:
“A lack of sterilization capacity has put pressure on US medical equipment manufacturers and could potentially cause supply bottlenecks. With our new facility in Pittsburgh, we are helping to eliminate them,” says Dr. Andreas Ostrowicki, Managing Director of BGS Beta-Gamma-Service.
State-of-the-Art Electron Accelerator Technology in Pittsburgh
BGS US focuses on a proven process and cutting-edge technology. The new facility will be equipped with highly efficient electron accelerator technology and fully automated product handling systems. The facility in Pittsburgh, PA, is scheduled to go online in 2025 and will trade as BGS US LLC with Leonard Zuba (formerly Vice President of Sales at Raumedic, Inc.) as its General Manager.
“Sterilization with ionizing radiation is one of the most common technologies for sterilizing medical devices, pharmaceutical primary packaging and biotech products. My goal as General Manager of BGS US is to position E-Beam as a highly efficient sterilization method for US manufacturers,” says Zuba. Bert Whitt, who has extensive experience in the radiation sterilization of medical devices, will take over as site manager.
“Interest from our international customers and the growing demand for E-Beam technology have driven us to expand our presence into the American market. Our experience in the US has been highly encouraging, with strong support from the authorities and efficient approval processes having allowed us to hit the ground running. We’ve gained positive momentum overall. Now, in addition to our established operations in Germany and Europe, we’re focused on strengthening our position in key global medical technology markets,” says BGS Managing Director Ostrowicki.
New Production Space and Lab in Germany
BGS has been a leading sterilization provider in Europe for decades, offering radiation sterilization and radiation crosslinking services to a range of industries, including the medical technology, biotech, pharmaceuticals, packaging, automotive, mechanical engineering, infrastructure, and electrical industries. We service our European customers from our German facilities in Wiehl, Bruchsal, and Saal a.d. Donau. Recently, BGS Beta-Gamma-Service invested in new laboratory and logistics space at its headquarters in Wiehl, North Rhine-Westphalia. With 1,000 square meters of new space available as of summer 2024, we have boosted our capacity for handling sterile products and streamlined our internal logistics.” More in the article.