Under significant time pressure, Kuijpers built a new ISO-class 7 cleanroom for Oliver Healthcare Packaging in Venray. The project faced several challenges, but both Kuijpers and the client teams stayed focused. The result: a production environment now considered the flagship of this international player in medical packaging manufacturing.
Oliver Healthcare Packaging is a market leader in its segment. It develops and produces medical packaging at locations around the world. Some sites focus solely on research, others on pure production. The latter is the case in Venray, North Limburg. The cleanroom is the beating heart here. “Packaging for medical applications must not pose any contamination risk to the products inside,” says Ernest Schmitz, Global Process Engineer and project leader. “That’s why our cleanroom must meet strict cleanliness standards.”
With help from Kuijpers and partners from the PP4CE consortium, the Venray site was modernized and made gas-free in 2021/2022. There was also a need to expand capacity. “Self-testing has become common practice. People are also living longer.
That increases the demand for medical devices—and therefore for medical packaging,” Ernest explains. “Kuijpers was tasked as the main contractor to renovate our offices, outdoor area, and cleanroom. Turnkey. Fully equipped.”
Harm van den Oever, Design and Engineering Manager at Kuijpers: “We started the cleanroom expansion with an empty hall as our ‘sketchbook’. We began designing and calculating. ‘What layout suits the production process and the machines? How much weight must the floor support? Is the roof strong enough for our installations?’ We attached a schedule and budget to that. We did the same for the offices and outdoor area.” Renovating the Venray production site seemed like a textbook example.
But there were some bumps in the road. A shortage of raw materials following the Covid-19 pandemic, panic in the supply market, steel prices that quadrupled, and a lack of manpower. “And then there were the issues with electricity grid capacity,” Harm recalls. “In North Limburg, no new connections were allowed. We had anticipated that. We made the building gas-free using four-pipe heat pumps that can cool and heat simultaneously.”
Meanwhile, Oliver Healthcare Packaging’s management decided that ‘Venray’ should become the standard for its international sites. Ernest: “In that landscape of external factors, the business strategy was also sharpened. There was immediately a strong ambition in terms of quality, schedule, and budget.”
Ernest and Harm’s teams decided to take a temporary pause. They used that time to create a new schedule and adjust the budget. Ernest calls it “going back to basics together.” “We felt jointly responsible for finding solutions,” he says. “So we decided to work with preliminary assignments. Keep in mind, Kuijpers was still working on the final design. It turned out to be a good strategy: those preliminary assignments were essential to achieving the goal.” Project leader René Michiels from Kuijpers was involved in the preparation, engineering, and execution of those assignments. “It was constant coordination with each other and with the client,” he says. “You don’t want to risk ordering too much—or the wrong things.” Harm adds that this sometimes led to tough discussions. But with a good outcome. “Execution went smoothly, thanks to a large team of experienced technicians. Keeping all lines tight helped too. We did that with our own process manager assigned to this project.”
René didn’t find the project’s non-linear path frustrating. In his twenty-year career as a technician at Kuijpers, he’s seen it often: changing strategies, new insights leading to revised schedules. “We started with the cleanroom. The offices and outdoor area followed.” This included not just building installations, but also office furnishings and the parking lot, including landscaping. “As the main contractor, you have to do it right,” René laughs. So in the final phase, he often worked with the interior architect, overseeing the placement of fencing and yew plants. “It’s something different from installations. But it was really interesting.” The entire project was completed within the agreed budget and timeline. “By being flexible. By having a ‘let’s get it done’ mentality. And by investing heavily in communication with the client and earning their trust,” Harm summarizes.
Ernest believes that trust in Kuijpers was well placed. “Our production facility turned out exactly as we wanted. Our international colleagues looked on critically. And they’re very satisfied too. We have excellent installations that meet European standards. Outside Europe, you won’t find this level of quality. Kuijpers’ integrated control technology in the cleanroom especially impressed everyone.
The ventilation and filtering method using filter fan units is also a model for how we want things at Oliver Healthcare Packaging. This renewed, advanced production facility radiates quality and reliability in every aspect. That’s extremely important in our industry.”
And so ‘Venray’ became exactly what it was meant to be: the blueprint for all other locations worldwide in terms of class and quality. Kuijpers will remain involved at the Venray site as a service partner for the time being. Ernest: “We handle preventive maintenance ourselves. Kuijpers is on standby for a year and monitors all control systems. So that working here is pleasant, comfortable, and ultra-hygienic every day.” Oliver Healthcare Packaging officially opened its renovated site in July 2023.
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