Gordonsville, Virginia - March 31, 2015 - The senior management team of Klöckner Pentaplast
Group (kp) introduced the company’s new state-of-the art facility, kp i.center, today at a preview
opening at the new site in Charlottesville, Va. Home to kp Pharmaceutical Film Division’s newly
expanded BlisterPro® XCEL suite of consulting, design, stability and prototyping services, the kp
i.center provides a collaborative space created to help global pharmaceutical customers bring products
to market more quickly and economically. The center is located in the University of Virginia Research
Park Emerging Technology Center at 1670 Discovery Drive.
The kp i.center offers a welcoming environment for packaging professionals to immerse
themselves in idea sharing with kp’s expert packaging design engineers, leading to the discovery of
innovative packages and prototypes optimized for customer’s products. Working together with the kp
team, customers will be able to use the blistering center to test and assess designs in real-time. The
cooperative approach will greatly reduce the time it takes to design and choose packaging, thereby
shortening product-to-market release.
“We wanted a destination for clients to ‘take residency’ and work side-by-side with us on their
specific packaging needs,” says Daniel Stagnaro, Director, Global Market Development. “The new kp
i.center facilitates rapid packaging design, and gives customers a truly personalized experience.”
The center was conceived to meet the needs of global pharmaceutical packaging professionals,
including those in operations, marketing, and procurement, for both branded and generic products.
Visitors will include project managers, business unit managers and engineers. The kp i.center hosts
collaboration rooms, customer offices, on-site tooling and blistering and, through kp’s knowledgeable
team, onsite expertise. It is a cross-functional space housing sales, marketing, market development,
and technology and innovation personnel.
In conjunction with the opening of the kp i.center, the company announced the expansion and
rebranding of kp’s BlisterPro® services, now BlisterPro® XCEL services. With the extended services, kp
is positioned as the only global film supplier to provide accelerated pharmaceutical product stability
profiling through FreeThink Technology’s ASAPprime® shelf life modeling software and ASAP
laboratory studies. This affords customers a unique combination of product and packaging optimization
benefits.
“We see our customers’ competitive landscape changing. Speed-to-market, product safety, and
cost control are essential factors in them growing profitably around the globe,” says Marc Setzen, Chief
Technology Officer. “BlisterPro® XCEL and the kp i.center change kp’s positioning from traditional
material supplier to value-added solutions provider. We can now truly make a difference in our
customers’ total cost position and help them bring better products to market faster.”
About the Klöckner Pentaplast Group
The Klöckner Pentaplast Group is a global leader in providing packaging, printing, and specialty
solutions serving the pharmaceutical, medical device, food, beverage, and card markets among others.
With a broad portfolio of rigid plastic films and services powered by innovation, kp plays an integral role
in the customer value chain by marketing and protecting product integrity, safety, consumer health,
and, ultimately, brand reputation.
Founded in 1965, Klöckner Pentaplast has grown from its initial facility in Montabaur, Germany,
to current operations in 12 countries with 18 production sites. The company has sales of over €1,194
million and employs more than 3,200 people committed to serving customers worldwide. The Klöckner
Pentaplast Group is wholly owned by an investor group led by SVP Global.
About the UVA Research Park
The University of Virginia Foundation develops research parks as part of its mission to support
the University of Virginia. The UVA Research Park provides state-of-the-art facilities that serve as a
catalyst for the creation and enhancement of research and business collaboration between the
University of Virginia and the public and private sectors, for the economic and societal benefit of the
Commonwealth of Virginia, the Central Virginia region and the nation. For more information on the UVA
Research Park, visit UVAResearchPark.com.