MAINZ, Germany and MUMBAI, India, April 24 /PRNewswire/ -- SCHOTT AG and KAISHA Manufacturers Private Ltd., an Indian company, announce the formation of a joint venture, SCHOTT KAISHA Private Ltd. The new joint venture will manufacture primary pharmaceutical packaging made of glass for the Indian market. The joint enterprise will have operations in Mumbai and Daman.

"With this double-digit million euro investment, SCHOTT continues on its course to growth and quality leadership. Additionally, we are securing our access to a very promising market," says Professor Udo Ungeheuer, Chairman of the Board of Management of SCHOTT AG.

SCHOTT, the technology group based in Mainz, Germany, will hold a 50 percent share in the company and contribute its technological expertise in manufacturing high quality ampoules, vials, syringes and cartridges in a global environment. KAISHA will bring in its existing sites and manufacturing capacities.

SCHOTT and KAISHA have worked successfully for many years in a buyer-supplier relationship. SCHOTT supplied the pharmaceutical glass tubing to Kaisha for converting them into primary pharmaceutical packaging products. KAISHA is considered to be a quality leader in the Indian market with sales of 11 million euros in 2007.

The pharmaceutical packaging market in India is growing by approximately 10 to 15 percent per year, particularly in the higher quality segments, according to industry analysis. India has the largest number of U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved plants outside of the United States, for example. The joint venture will support Indian pharmaceutical companies in upgrading products for international markets by supplying pharmaceutical packaging at an international quality level from the Indian production site. For this purpose, SCHOTT KAISHA will build production capacity for StandardLine ampoules and vials, which will be in production in the fourth quarter 2009.

"The joint venture combines KAISHA's local market expertise and access to customers with the technological know-how of SCHOTT," explains Kairus Dadachanji, Managing Director of SCHOTT KAISHA. The company expects to see a quick increase in manufacturing capacity. The number of employees will grow in line with the company's growth.

"Over the next 15 to 18 months, our Indian customers and the market will begin to experience the positive effects of this cooperation," Dadachanji says. "Thanks to the close proximity to our customers and our high standards for quality, SCHOTT KAISHA will support the Indian pharmaceutical industry on the way towards reaching international quality standards as a strong partner."

SCHOTT Pharmaceutical Packaging is one of the world's leading suppliers of parenteral packaging for the pharmaceutical industry. More than 500 production lines in 11 production sites worldwide produce more than 6 billion syringes, vials, ampoules, cartridges and special articles made of tubing glass or polymer. Excellent raw materials, state-of-the-art manufacturing, the use of the latest technologies, continuous research and development combine to enable the development of innovative product solutions that meet the high demands of their customers. The back-up possibilities offered by production sites situated all over the world provide flexibility, reliability and security to the partners. All production sites of Business Segment SCHOTT Pharmaceutical Packaging operate in a GMP environment and the products comply with the international standards USP, EP and JP.

SCHOTT is an international technology group that sees its core purpose as the lasting improvement of living and working conditions. To this end, the company has been developing special materials, components and systems for nearly 125 years. The main areas of focus are the household appliances industry, pharmaceuticals, solar energy, electronics, optics and the automotive industry. The SCHOTT Group is present in close proximity to its customers with production and sales companies in all its major markets. The Group's approximately 16,700 employees generate worldwide sales of approximately 2.1 billion euros. The company's technological and economic expertise is closely linked with its social and ecological responsibility. The parent company of the SCHOTT Group is SCHOTT AG, whose sole shareholder is the Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung (Foundation).

Contact: Klaus Hofmann Tel: +49-61-31-66-36-62 Cell phone: +49-1-75-18-16-326 E-mail: klaus-bernhard.hofmann@schott.com

Contact: Klaus Hofmann, Tel: +49-61-31-66-36-62, Cell phone: +49-1-75-18-16-326, E-mail: klaus-bernhard.hofmann@schott.com