How combined expertise is fuelling Envair Technology’s international growth

This is a transcript of an article that appeared in Manufacturing Today in October 2022.

Pharmaceutical manufacturing is a complex and rapidly evolving industry. Manufacturers have adapted their production lines, as they aim to speed up processes to meet increasing demands for the faster development of highly personalised treatments – such as Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs), targeted medicines that deliver chemotherapy agents directly to cancer cells.

Many of them are also working with highly potent active pharmaceutical ingredients (HPAPIs) which, when used in microscopic doses, enable a targeted approach to treatment.

These are life-changing developments, but their complex nature has also created challenges around manufacturing control – with cross-contamination risks and danger to operators who are handling these substances. Demand for clean air and containment solutions has therefore grown, as manufacturers look to ensure that their workers are protected during the drug production process.

Responding to this demand, Envair Technology was formed by uniting three businesses operating in the clean air and containment space – flexible isolator specialist, ONFAB, rigid isolator manufacturer, Envair, and Total Containment Solutions (TCS), which is a leading supplier of fume cupboards. Each brand boasts its own unique heritage, with Envair celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

As a group, Envair Technology provides solutions at every stage of the value chain for pharmaceutical companies – covering the full lifecycle of drug manufacture, from research into candidate compounds for clinical trials through to manufacture, and dispensing within hospitals.

Following significant growth over the past two years, Envair Technology now employs 150 people. With a turnover in excess of £20million, it offers the widest portfolio of clean air and containment solutions to facilitate drug development and manufacturing in the pharmaceutical sector.

Culture of collaboration

While the individual businesses may boast significant heritage, as a group, its relative youth could present a challenge, particularly in terms of organisational culture. As Andrew explains: “To mold and support our culture, we are implementing a leadership development program to nurture professionalism and provide our people with the skills to lead and develop the business.

“We are equally proud to work collaboratively and closely with our suppliers. When engineering solutions for our customers, we call on our supply chain partners to support us.” Indeed, what sets the business apart from the competition is its ability to react to customer demand. Envair Technology prides itself on being able to engineer containment device solutions for its customers. “It’s not a case of box-shifting or grabbing something off-the-shelf,” Andrew explains. “We go to customers with potential solutions, and work in collaboration to create the containment device they need. That is our unique selling point. We can set the margins, but we have to work with our customers to deliver a quality product, on-time, and at the right price.”

Looking ahead

In terms of the current economic climate, with inflation and energy rates rising, Andrew sees the business as defending itself, and its customers and suppliers, against those and other cost increases. “By investing in our in-house capabilities, we can be more efficient and maintain our profit margins.

“Our goals for the remainder of 2022 are two-fold. We have a healthy order book that we need to deliver on over the next three-to-four months, but I have also put a three-year growth strategy in place which we will implement with our senior team and managers across the business. That strategy is about growth in the US and Europe, as well as developing new products and working more closely with the NHS in the UK. We now have the manufacturing capability, and we are building our sales and commercial teams, so they are in a prime position to respond and grow the company.”