Technology Facilitates Growth at Hart Biologicals

Interchangeable technology from Flexicon Liquid Filling, a business division of Watson Marlow Pumps Group, has helped family-run diagnostic reagent manufacturer, Hart Biologicals Ltd, accommodate business growth with the recent upgrade to an FF30 tabletop bottle filling and capping machine. The Flexicon FF30 at Hart Biologicals is used to fill vials with reagents and cap them on completion. Some reagents are freeze dried and then capped, other liquid reagents are capped immediately after filling. The machine was installed in November 2010 and replaced a Flexicon FF20, which does not feature capping functionality. “With a recent increase in throughput, we became aware of the physical duress that comes with tightening caps day-in, day-out,” explained Malcolm Pattison, Production Manager at Hart Biologicals. “Fingers inevitably suffer in this situation and to address the issue we contacted Flexicon to enquire about an upgrade to the system. We also knew that having the automated capping facility of the FF30 would allow us to ensure caps are secured tightly, time-after-time, not to mention the gains in efficiency.” Although only established in 2002, Hart Biologicals’ wide range of diagnostic reagents is proving increasingly popular for in-vitro laboratory applications such as the detection, prevention and monitoring of a number of medical conditions related to haemostasis and platelet function. “With growth there is responsibility to evolve processes accordingly,” said Mr Pattison. “We knew that by introducing greater automation into these operations we would improve accuracy and consistency, as well as ensure the ongoing health and safety of our employees. We’ve had extremely encouraging feedback from our operators regarding the new FF30.”