Modernizing the production facility for Moroccan SME specialized in the production of pharmaceutical products.

Laboratoires Afric Phar is a Moroccan SME has been established in Morocco since 1966 and operates within the pharmaceutical sector, specializing in manufacturing, control, and packaging of numerous pharmaceutical products, including: analgesics, antipyretics, anti-inflammatories, antibiotics, antifungals, antidepressants, intestinal adsorbents, antiseptics, disinfectants and antacids, requested financing and technical assistance from the Green Value Chain (GVC) programme for the acquisition of a new production line.

The new investment consists of acquiring a new production line to replace outdated machines dating back to 2001 with a production capacity not exceeding 40 blisters/min, the new line guarantees both high productivity and better reliability to ensure products consistency and high quality:

– Compact thermoforming machine with maximum flexibility, suitable not only for longitudinal but also transversal blisters. Its production can exceed 120 blisters per minute in continuous operation.

– Cartoning machine for packaging pharmaceutical products in previously glued cases with alternate-legged snap-in closure. The machine is designed for a production rate of 100 cases/min.

– The synchronization equipment is a conveyor to connect the thermoforming machine and the cartoner with length adaptation for faster format changeover.

– Automatic checkweigher controls the closure of the case legs by photoelectric barrier, detects open legs and ejects non-compliant cases. It ensures a speed of up to 200 pieces/minute.

This investment enabled the company to further improve its productivity and competitiveness, thanks to a reduction in electrical energy consumption by 178 MWh per year and CO2 emissions by 113.3 TCO2/year. In addition, the new machines offer increased reliability, ease-of-use, quality, safety and academic performance and an average annual monetary saving of MAD 1,283,000 per year.

Green Value Chain (GVC) in Morocco is a credit facility of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to provide funding to local partner financial institutions for on-lending to Moroccan SMEs belonging to agribusiness, processing industries and logistics value chains and ecosystems. Supported by the European Union, the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Korean Technical Assistance and Cooperation Account (KTACA) and the EBRD Shareholder Special Fund (EBRD SSF), the facility aims to improve competitiveness of SMEs and that of their value chains and ecosystems through highly efficient green investments.