DESCRIPTION OF THE PRODUCTION AND AUXILIARY UNITS
Unit 1 - Oldest small fermenters are idle, other fermentation facilities are used for antibiotics with smaller markets.
Together with some auxiliary facilities, Unit 1 is situated in the eastern
part of the factory over the ruins of an old Roman town. Archeological
considerations prohibit any more construction here. It is possible to reach
this unit from either a gate leading to the town street or from an internal
road from the side of Unit 3. There are two buildings - one for fermentation,
chemical purification, drying and laboratories and the other one for filtration
and storage of raw materials. The first building has three floors; the
second has only the ground floor and a high ceiling. Because of good maintenance, these buildings and the equipment are in good condition and should continue in service for as long as needed.
There are 234 employees for this unit working with 3 eight-hour
shifts. The daytime shift is responsible for loading of the fermentors
and preparing of nutrient medium. Labs are working with three 6-hour shifts
( 6 a.m. to 12 p.m.).
Unit 2 - for Production of Substances
Unit 2 was built up in 1964 for production of tetracyclin and bulk antibiotics. Its production capacity is greater than that of unit 1. The stages of the process of production of substances are the same as for Unit 1. Unit 2 does not use its out-of-date chemical purification section but uses part of the drying capacity of Unit 5.
Since 1995, this unit has been used mainly for developing and producing such new products as apramycin, tobramycin and tylosin. In 1994, the unit began producing the enzyme xylanase for export. 40 tons of xylanase are annually exported to France. The enzyme is used in the bakery industry, especially for the production of croissants.