DUSSELDORF, Germany, May 29 /PRNewswire/ --

- Now Seven Plants in China

The Gerresheimer Group today opened a new plant for pharmaceutical glass packaging in China. The high-tech production facility constructed in Danyang (Jiangsu Province) covers 16,000 square meters. Specializing in high-quality pharmaceutical vials and cartridges for injection systems it serves the pharma life science industry on both a local and international level. Dr. Axel Herberg, CEO of Gerresheimer AG, describes the investment as a very important strategic step for further business expansion in Asia. In China, Gerresheimer now operates seven production plants for highly specific glass and plastic products.

The new facility belongs to Gerresheimer Shuangfeng, a Chinese subsidiary of the Group, which was acquired in 2006 and now already has production plants in three locations with a total of more than 150 production lines. With investment in future-oriented technologies and a high-quality range of vials, ampoules and cartridges, it has in just a few years developed into the market leader in China, said Dr. Max Raster, member of the Management Board of Gerresheimer AG with responsibility for the Tubular Glass Division, at the opening ceremony on May 29, 2009.

'Top quality produced in China' is the corporate philosophy here which binds us directly to the ambitious objectives for development of the local economy and the Jiangsu region, Raster said. At the gala opening he joined Chao Xingsong, the Managing Director of Gerresheimer Danyang, in welcoming representatives from the world of politics and the administration as well as a large number of national and international customers who clearly showed they were impressed by the high technical standard.

The state-of-the-art plant in the up-and-coming city with 800,000 inhabitants just 250 kilometers to the west of Shanghai is of outstanding strategic importance for the globally active Gerresheimer Group. A key area of focus for it is the rapidly growing Asian pharma market with its constantly rising quality demands in terms of packaging and drug delivery. In the unanimous assessment of experts, China is already the fifth largest pharma market in the world.

In parallel with its local status as a technology advanced pharma glass plant the Danyang facility offers ideal conditions and flexible expansion possibilities to enable it to supply customers with high-quality specialist products in neighboring Asian countries and other market regions as well. We work at the highest level of internationally recognized quality standards, Raster stresses. The technical production processes are for example monitored by in-line camera systems - a product control process which is by no means universal industry practice in China or elsewhere. The clean-room concept also reflects the latest development status.

In Danyang, which has for years been regarded as a highly attractive industrial location for foreign investors in particular, Gerresheimer Shuangfeng also has a second production plant exclusively for pharmaceutical vials. In addition, the company manufactures vials and ampoules in Zhenjiang, also in the Province of Jiangsu. Four other plants of the Gerresheimer Group also manufacture in the country. In total, Gerresheimer employs around 1,500 people in China.

About Gerresheimer

Gerresheimer employs around 10,000 people in 42 locations in Europe, America and Asia. In the financial year 2008, worldwide sales totalled EUR1.06bn. The product portfolio ranges from pharmaceutical vials made of glass and plastic through to complex drug-delivery systems for the pharma life science industry. These include sterile syringes, inhalers and other system-based approaches for safe dosage and application of medications. The Group enjoys a leading position in markets which are characterised by high technical and regulatory barriers.

Contact Press Burkhard Lingenberg Director Corporate Communication Marketing Phone +49-211-6181-250 Fax +49-211-6181-241 e-mail b.lingenberg@gerresheimer.com Contact Investor Relations Anke Linnartz Director Corporate Investor Relations Phone +49-211-6181-314 Fax +49-211-6181-121 e-mail a.linnartz@gerresheimer.com

Contact Press, Burkhard Lingenberg, Director Corporate Communication Marketing, Phone +49-211-6181-250, Fax +49-211-6181-241, e-mail b.lingenberg@gerresheimer.com; Contact Investor Relations, Anke Linnartz, Director Corporate Investor Relations, Phone +49-211-6181-314, Fax +49-211-6181-121, e-mail a.linnartz@gerresheimer.com