Ongoing innovation is critical for meeting the changing demands of the pharmaceutical industry for equipment, machinery, and related services. We asked the participants in Pharmaceutical Technology's Product Innovation roundtable for their input on their respective companies' product enhancements. Participating in the roundtable were: Richard Denk, director of the pharmaceutical department for Hecht Anlagenbau (Pfaffenhofen/Ilm, Germany); Dieter Forthuber, division president of KMPT USA (Florence, KY); Craig Martin, product manager at Dwyer Instruments; (Michigan City, IN); Bruce Smith, regional manager at SPX Process Equipment (Delavan, WI); Christopher Fournier, vice-president of Mar Cor Purification (Lowell, MA); and Grant Rowe, product manager for respiratory protection, Bullard (Cynthiana, KY).

Bulk-solids handling

Q: Can you outline any key product or service introductions that your company will be making in line with Interphex and/or planned for launch in 2008?

Small bulk compounds charging into a reactor—this technology allows for bulk-solid charging into a pressurized vessel or via gravity flow into a vessel with a hazardous solvent atmosphere. The reactor is never open to the atmosphere during the charging procedure, thus maintaining the closed system in the reactor.

Process equipment for multipurpose active pharmaceutical ingredient and pharmaceutical production for those facilities that previously were dedicated to one product.

Solid-liquids separation

Q: Can you outline any key product or service introductions that your company will be making in line with Interphex and/or planned for launch in 2008?

Forthuber: Helical vacuum dryer—we will introduce our 40-L size pilot unit at Interphex 2008 in Philadelphia.

Controls and measurement

Q: Can you outline any key product or service introductions that your company will be making in line with Interphex and/or planned for launch in 2008?

Martin: The "Series 610" low differential pressure transmitters are capable of measuring the pressure and flow of air or nonconducting gases at greater resolution in cleanrooms, isolation rooms, and other critical environments. This unit uses an improved all stainless steel micro-tig welded sensor to detect differential pressures down to 0.1-in. water column (wc) at 0.25% full-scale accuracy. Easy access pressure ports and electrical connections, removable heads, and detachable terminal blocks make for fast and easy installation.

The Series 610 transmitter can be ordered with either a base mount or a din rail mount and the option of a digital read-out display. In addition, a calibration key can be ordered that allows the user to set zero and span. One key will work on multiple transmitters.

The "Series RH-R" humidity/temperature transmitter can be used for those applications where space is limited. The compact sensor is protected by a replaceable filter. It can be mounted up to 16 ft away from the weatherproof base. The Series RH-R is ideal for environmental chambers, cleanrooms. and air-handler applications.

The "Series TTE" is used for hazardous temperature measurement applications. This transmitter has seven preprogrammed temperature ranges that are selectable via an internal dip switch. For those applications that need a custom range, the transmitter can easily be field configured for any range between -20 to 250 °F with a minimum span of 40 °F. The span and zero can be quickly adjusted with the simple push button design. The optional two-line liquid crystal display (LCD) informs both the temperature and the output. The compact housing allows for the transmitter to be mounted in virtually any application.