Wickert comes through with hydraulic presses for vaccine stoppers

LANDAU, Germany—Everything about the effort to produce rubber stoppers for vials containing the COVID-19 vaccine has been big for the family-owned German firm Wickert Hydraulic Presses.

The task was huge, meeting production of billions of rubber stoppers with only a few months lead time for both raw material suppliers and manufacturers of the hydraulic press equipment.

To meet that need, Wickert pharmaceutical presses, namely the WKP 10.000 S which can punch out 2,000 rubber stoppers per press stroke, shipped worldwide to companies in the pharmaceutical and medical industries.

The transportation method for the 45-ton Wickert presses was huge as well, as the first eight presses were airlifted to their locations via one of the world's largest aircraft, the Russian Antonov An-124. Airlifting the presses (as opposed to boat) reduced delivery time for customers by about 25 days, Wickert said.

And the stakes could not be higher, as there is no COVID-19 vaccine without these sterile rubber stoppers.

"To cut delivery time, Wickert has been manufacturing the presses at an accelerated speed in recent months," the company said in a Jan. 28 announcement. "To further save delivery time the first eight press units were airlifted to their world-wide customers. Meanwhile, all eight units are manufacturing rubber stoppers at full capacity."

Wickert said it was able to reduce delivery time for the presses from 10 months to six months, from order to delivery. The presses also can assist in the manufacture of needle shields and syringe pistons for disposable syringes.

"Our presses are essential for bottling the vaccine," said Hans Joachim Wickert, managing director and owner of the company. "This is why our employees are highly committed to helping (with) getting the vaccine properly sealed and delivered to the public as fast as possible."

According to Wickert, the rubber stoppers need to seal the vaccine at extremely high ambient temperatures as well as at extremely low temperatures.