EU funding helped OBPPŁ Ichem, the Research and Production Centre of the Technical University of Łódź in Poland, to buy equipment for research and development of new products, particularly dietary supplements in pill form. This made it possible to improve the supplements and also to produce them in other forms, such as capsules and vials.
Investment in R&D equipment supports development of new dietary supplements
- 18 November 2016
Investments in innovation allow us to focus on the most important aspects of working on new projects and new product development. With the new equipment, the testing parameters for the product prototypes are set automatically, allowing us to work on more challenging tasks.
Laboratory equipment purchased under the project included apparatus for the automatic measurement of the mass, hardness, thickness and length of the pills, and for testing of their tendency to crumble or break. The equipment allowed the researchers to model the characteristics of the pills and to determine their suitability for supplements.
Apparatus was also acquired for studying the time it takes for the pills to dissolve once they are taken and to release their contents into the bloodstream. This helped to improve the supplements. The funding also allowed the team to purchase devices for testing the suitability of packaging materials for dry products and machines to detect impurities in the supplements.
Increased innovative potential and competitiveness
The project has enabled Ichem to increase its potential to innovate and its competitiveness through development of a new laboratory equipped with modern research infrastructure in a research-friendly environment. The new equipment has increased the efficiency of Ichem's research and development processes by cutting the time needed for studies and allowing the possibility to modify products as results are obtained.
Ichem has also been able to further develop and improve existing products. The upgrades to the laboratory infrastructure have contributed to more advanced studies in conjunction with other research centres, and the launch of new projects.
This, along with reduced expenditure on outsourcing studies, has brought about an increase in turnover, more than 80 % of which comes from exports, mainly to other EU countries. Furthermore, the project has led to the creation of a new job for a laboratory technician.
A long history in research and development
Ichem has over 27 years' experience in the production of dietary supplements, food for specific nutritional purposes and pharmaceuticals. It currently employs more than 110 people and its core activity is the manufacture of its own products, as well as production and packaging services for products such as capsules, pills, sachets, tea bags, syrups and gels.
The company's production plant is equipped to cover all stages of the production process, from conception and formula development to manufacture and shipment of the final products. Research and development studies on product formulae and composition and technological processes are a fundamental part of Ichem's work and the related infrastructure is continually under development.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Increase of innovative potential of OBPPŁ "Ichem" Sp. z o.o. through the purchase of R+D infrastructure” is EUR 132 238, with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 27 658 through the “Łódzkie” Operational Programme for the 2007-2013 programming period.