Member Article

bdaily goes behind the scenes of Parker domnick hunter Process Filtration with Nick Hutchinson

Synopsis of your area of expertise: The manufacture of Pharmaceuticals and
Biopharmaceuticals.

What key challenges has your company recently faced?

The major challenge for the business has been to grow sales profitably during a global financial crises. Life science industries such as the Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology industries are somewhat less cyclical than others but are not without their challenges. The pharmaceutical industry continues to consolidate as the big players try and fill ailing product pipelines by acquiring smaller, more innovative and profitable businesses. An example of this is the recent acquisition of Wyeth by Pfizer but there are many others. This can create difficulties for us as the integration of these companies can delay ongoing projects we have as new owners review their operations and buying practises. If you provide a great value proposition, however, and have the appropriate mix of patience and persistence you will continue to be successful.

What is your biggest achievement over the past 12 months?

We have developed a close relationship with a major vaccine manufacturer with global operations. I think they have been really impressed with our product offering, quality systems, support capabilities and expertise. We have begun working with them at a few key strategic sites in Europe to review both their existing processes and new projects in order to deliver value by maximising the efficiency of their filtration operations. In future as we successfully deliver we hope that we can expand the opportunity further afield to North America and Asia Pacific.

What is your biggest focus for the coming year?

Along with delivering value to all our Life Science customers we will launch a new product range of single-use technologies by integrating a separate Parker division into the Process Filtration Global Platform. Integrations and product launches require time and effort from all involved but I work alongside a talented and experienced team so I’m confident we can achieve these objectives smoothly and without disruption to our existing business. Of course it will be hard work but the rewards will be really significant as we’ll be able to supply customers with entire single-use filtration solutions.

If you had to choose one top piece of advice for someone just starting out in business, or is currently operating within your industry sector, what would it be?

All businesses from SMEs to large corporations have finite resources. What I have learned is that you must focus your efforts on excelling at a smaller number of priorities rather than attempting to do a larger number of objectives which are inevitably done less well. Differentiation can be achieved in many ways so work closely with and talk to your customers to understand how your business can uniquely deliver value to them. Then focus your attention on maximising the advantage you can gain from doing this.

Can you share with us your view of the current landscape of business, in this region or generally and where your organisation sits within it?

Parker domnick hunter Process Filtration operates in countries all around the world, however, we have strong links to companies in the UK and within the region. I think it is fair to say that conditions are relatively tough at the moment but the Life Science sector in the North East is pretty strong. It’s great to have facilities such as The Centre for Life right in the heart of Newcastle that actively engage with the public and demonstrate the value of the Life Sciences to the population. We have a number of research institutes, biotech companies and pharmaceutical manufacturers in the region that have
shown they can compete on the world stage. We would certainly support more initiatives to bring leaders from these organizations together to look for synergy and ensure the region’s competitiveness in the Biotech and Pharma in the years to come.

Nick Hutchinson
Market Development Manager (Pharma & Biotech)
Parker Hannifin Manufacturing Ltd
domnick hunter Process Filtration - Europe

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Nick Hutchinson .