Neville Koyithara

Managing Director

One of the rare silver linings of the pandemic has been its catalytic effect in the pharmaceutical and life sci­ences industry. Despite the havoc in the healthcare domain, the pharma & life sciences sector came out all guns blazing and has fast-forwarded its future by many years. Patients have become more informed about the drugs they take, raising the quality benchmarks in the pharmaceutical industry. However, in a 24/7 active industry like pharma­ceutical manufacturing, the reliability of machine operations and the consistency of the finished product’s quality are the most important requirements. The required stringent qual­ity standards allow absolutely zero downtime. It’s no won­der that pharmaceutical companies constantly depend on reliable and proven pharmaceutical machine manufacturers like Safrroys (Safrroys Machines). A globally leading brand with its machines in continuous production for over three decades, Safrroys has achieved this reliability in operations and consistency in quality by continuously updating its ma­chinery designs, incorporating the latest technologies avail­able in the market, and, most importantly, by learning from customer feedback.

Lend your ears to Neville Koyithara, Managing Director, Safrroys. He says, “Safrroys is the only company that offers a comprehensive solution for empty hard capsule manufacturing. We provide everything you need to produce high-quality capsules in any country, including equipment, technology, training and documentation. I proudly stress the fact that Safrroys is the only hard capsule equipment and technology supplier with a proven track record in the global market for decades. We have the systems and practices to support our customers in different countries throughout the lifespan of our equipment.

Since its inception in 1976, Safrroys has been a spectator to many competitors coming in from multiple countries, only for them to face closure or takeovers. It’s not only that Safrroys continued to grow, but it also took over the equipment and technology of R&J Engineering Corp of Ontario, Canada, a pioneer with over 50 years of experience in the hard capsule industry, in 2015.

The Source of Success

The root of this success can be traced back to the unique and holistic approach that Safrroys provides. Rather than selling its products, the company provides solutions for its clients' manufacturing needs. Once Safrroys engages with a customer for an empty hard capsule manufacturing project, it starts the project by assessing the customer's current and future production capacity, the number of phases they want to implement, and the sizes of capsules they want to produce. Based on this, the company calculates each equipment's optimal size and quantity. It then finalizes a Scope of Supply with the customer, clearly defining the responsibilities and deliverables. Upon receiving the Purchase Order and the payments as per terms, the company prepares the products for dispatch. Safrroys also enables the customer team to visit its facilities, conduct a Factory Acceptance Test for all equipment, and provide preliminary training. The company then dispatches the equipment to the customer site, where it deploys different teams for each phase of the installation and commissioning. Once everything is ready, it starts the hard capsule production and provides training on the specific requirements.

“We help our customers to understand the rationale behind each layout and equipment choice and train them on the use and maintenance of all the supporting equipment. Our customers are involved in every stage of the project, from dismantling and reassembling the equipment at their site to installing and commissioning the plant. We also train them on the actual process of hard capsule production, including defect detection and resolution,” a d j o i n s Neville.

Safrroys also helps its clients set up and follow the best practices for documentation, such as SOPs, preventive maintenance schedules, and batch product records. This meticulous approach involves a goal to make the customers self-reliant and proficient in hard capsule production and to enable them to satisfy their end customers' requirements.

On the other hand, another huge aspect of Safrroys’ success is its team of qualified and experienced engineers in Mechanical, Electrical and Mechatronics domains backed by seasoned experts in hard capsule production. And it starts at the helm of the company. For instance, Neville holds an MBA from Insead, France, a prestigious business school. We are talking about an impressive growth rate of 25 percent to 50 percent yearly in the last five years alone.

Going Forward

“For any continuous process industry like ours that operates 24/7, the key requirements are the reliability of machine operations and the consistency of the finished product quality. Moreover, the quality standards are constantly increasing, and what was acceptable a decade ago is now obsolete,” elucidates Neville. Conceiving this need for constant improvement in its products and approach, Safrroys increasingly focuses on providing complete solutions to its customers for empty hard capsule manufacturing. The company is also endeavoring to offer niche innovative products like capsules made from alternate raw materials and capsules with customized release properties. Safrroys is also looking to leverage its experience and skill sets in automation and precision process control systems in other industries.