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At the gala in Düsseldorf on September 26, 2020 the finalists of the annual contest "Großer Preis des Mittelstandes" for Lower Saxony / Bremen have been announced. AMINO was honored as one of 5 finalists.

“We appreciate the award as finalist 2020 in recognition of the development from a liquid sugar site to a modern production site for active pharmaceutical ingredients”, states Dr. Lutz Thomas, managing director of AMINO GmbH. “Our track record for growth we currently support by investing into a state-of-the-art production facility with an annual production capacity of 1,000 mt. We are convinced to have established a good foundation for the future of the company and the site in Frellstedt. Internationalization and innovation remain the pillars of our strategy”, Dr. Thomas adds.

The innovation network pharmaceutical production technology - short “ProPharm” – was founded by six small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as six research partners from the Technical University of Brunswick and the Leibniz University of Hanover. The objective of the network is to enable fast and consistent transfer of research results into the pharmaceutical and active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) production. As an API manufacturer AMINO has joined the network. Together with the scientific research partners innovation projects can be initiated and progressed. “We have worked successfully with the Technical University of Brunswick on several research projects over the past few years. I am confident that the network will allow us to generate further synergy effects,” explains Dr. Lutz Thomas, managing director of AMINO GmbH. The network is funded by the Central Innovation Program for SMEs (ZIM) of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi).

AMINO has successfully registered another drug master file with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the production of the amino acid threonine.

“Threonine is one of the growing products of our broad product spectrum. We have registered a US-DMF for this essential amino acid”, says Kai-Philipp Thomas, Head of Marketing and Sales at AMINO GmbH, and continues "We are currently adding more amino acids to our US-DMF portfolio". By registering with the FDA, AMINO can expand its sales and supply pharmaceutical customers in the USA with 10 different amino acids and other active pharmaceutical ingredients. These include aspartic acid, isoleucine, leucine (fermentation and corn), phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine, N-acetyl-L-tyrosine, valine and betaine.

“The company is on an expansion course. By registering the products offered with the FDA and building the new plant, we will be able to meet the increasing demand from our customers for amino acids even better”, explains Dr. Lutz Thomas, managing director of AMINO GmbH.

AMINO has been nominated for “Großer Preis des Mittelstands 2020”, a German award targeted at small and medium sized companies. AMINO has entered the jury list along with another 35  companies located in Lower Saxony and Bremen. The jury list represents the final step of the competition. The finalists, award winners and special award winners for 2020 will be selected from this list.

The award recognizes outstanding small and medium-sized companies in Germany and is awarded annually by the Oskar Patzelt Foundation in collaboration with the Chamber of Industry, Commerce and Crafts, employers’ associations as well as ministries, institutions and the media.

The winners will be announced in September 2020.

Amino GmbH, which produces high-quality pharmaceutical-grade amino acids for pharmaceutical, medical and clinical dietetic nutrition applications, announces plans to double production capacity by building a new facility at its headquarters in Frellstedt, Germany. Amino is investing approximately $35 million to meet the growing demand of current customers and to increase supply and availability for the worldwide pharmaceutical and nutritional market. Construction will begin by March 31 and the new facility will begin operation in 2021.

“We are expanding because we believe in ourselves and we want to offer our services to a broader audience,” said Dr. Lutz Thomas, Managing Director.  “We will be an even stronger source for companies in the high-end pharmaceutical grade amino acid market.” 

Dr. Thomas said that by building the new facility, Amino will increase production by about 1200 metric tons across all product lines, the complete range of pharmaceutical grade amino acids. Serving Europe, Asia and the Americas, Amino specializes in amino acids for: infusions and injections; active pharmaceutical ingredients for oral applications; pharma-intermediates; pharmaceutical production in cell cultures, and medical nutrition and infant formula.

Amino has registered rapid and consistent annual growth for more than 10 years by adding value beyond the amino acid and helping customers solve their production problems.  To that end, Amino has invested heavily in R&D, creating its AminoVation platform to expand its line of products and services and respond even faster and more specifically to customers’ needs.

“We are developing the next generation of products for the next generation of employees and managers,” explained Dr. Thomas. “Building on our current portfolio we are developing amino acid derivatives and other APIs and nutrients.”

“Current growth is exhausting Amino’s production capacity.” said Dr. Thomas and added, “The Company now needs to think bigger and beyond its European base”.

“We plan to expand our marketing worldwide with a focus on the American markets,” said Kai-Philipp Thomas, Manager of Sales & Marketing.  “The new facility enables Amino to supply new customers, particularly pharmaceutical companies in the U.S., while also meeting increasing demand from our existing customer base.”

Immediately after the inauguration of the innovation center, the next project on the Amino premises was started: the construction of a new quality center.

"The current building for quality control and quality assurance limits the further development of our company," says Jörn Oetken, head of quality management and project manager for the new building. The new quality center will provide additional workplaces as well as modern laboratories encompassing the high requirements for quality control. Dr. Lutz Thomas, Managing Director of Amino GmbH, confirms: "The production of high-purity amino acids requires permanent quality assurance of all processes and quality control must be carried out in high-quality laboratories. With the construction of the new building, we create optimal conditions to support further growth of the company”. The investment for the quality center will be co-funded by the NBank.

In order to meet its customers expectations with regard to sustainable products and technologies as well as the compliance with ecological and social standards, AMINO publishes its sustainability report for the years 2016 to 2018.

The voluntarily published sustainability report will provide better transparency across the entire supply and value chain. "In addition to applying sustainable technologies, the objective of ensuring high ecological and social standards as the foundation of its economic success, people are within the focus of our activities." says CEO Dr. Lutz Thomas. Based on AMINO’s sustainability strategies clearly defined sustainability goals are set.

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After a construction period of 10 months and an investment volume of EUR 4.4 million, the new innovation center was inaugurated on 11.09.2019.

With the construction of the innovation center and the associated expansion of its research and development activities, AMINO intends to supplement the core business of the production of pharmaceutical amino acids with amino acid derivatives and other APIs as well as developing new technologies for the company.

"We offer our customers new development resources for joint projects," adds Kai-Philipp Thomas, Sales Manager of AMINO GmbH. The new building creates ideal conditions for the development of processes and technologies such as chemical synthesis or derivatization in combination with modern analysis methods. In the future projects which are currently being processed on a laboratory scale, can be scaled up to the pilot scale and then gradually transferred into the production. "The opening of our innovation center is an integral step of completing our growth strategy," explains Dr. Lutz Thomas, Managing Director of AMINO GmbH, after the successful opening ceremony.

AMINO wants to meet the high demands of their customers regarding sustainable products and technologies as well as the fulfillment of ecological and social standards. Therefor AMINO has subjected itself to a voluntary Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) assessment by the independent platform EcoVadis and was once again awarded with the silver medal.

The evaluation includes 21 CSR criterias from the areas of environment, social affairs, ethics and sustainable procurement. The rating is intended to contribute to more transparency between international business partners and recognizes the special commitment to greater sustainability and social responsibility in the entire supply chain.

"The award strengthens us in our goal to take social responsibility as a globally operating company and encourages us to further improve our sustainability performance," explains managing director Dr. Lutz Thomas. 

As part of its sustainability program and specifically its energy policy, AMINO has committed to precisely monitor and reduce its electricity, natural gas and water consumption. The underlying energy management system was introduced in 2014 and has now successfully been recertified under DIN ISO 50001: 2018.

The German association Stifterverband once again recognizes the research and development activities of AMINO GmbH by awarding the certificate "Innovative through research". From 2014 onwards the association has collected data from companies in Germany to determine their innovative strength and to develop corresponding funding concepts. “We have invested heavily in our research and development program in recent years.” explains Dr. Lutz Thomas, Managing Director of AMINO GmbH. “We have established a team of scientists under the brand AminoVation and have built a state of the art innovation center. The AminoVation team works in close corporation with our customers on solutions for specific problems, on the next generation of nutritional and active pharmaceutical ingredients as well as on optimized scalable production processes. We are excited about the renewed award by the Stifterverband and draw further motivation for the strategic development of the company and creating the future”, Dr. Thomas adds.

The symbolic groundbreaking ceremony at AMINO GmbH took place with heavy equipment, initiating the start of the construction of the new plant. At its headquarters in Frellstedt, the company is investing around EUR 30 million in the new building, including the most modern production facilities and an independent, decentralized energy supply center. The aim of the expansion is to double its current production capacity.

Kai-Philipp Thomas, sales manager and designated successor to the managing director Dr. Lutz Thomas explains "With the commissioning of the new plant in autumn 2021, we will be able to meet the increasing demand of our international customers and be able to drive our expansion forward".

CEO Dr. Lutz Thomas adds "The new building marks another milestone in our young company history and underlines the trust in our products, our employees and our region".

The manufacturer of high-purity amino acids has continuously developed since 2006. In addition to the newly opened innovation center for research and development last September, construction of the new quality center began in January this year.

AMINO has successfully registered a drug master file with the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the production of L-aspartic acid.

“We are pleased to expand our US-DMF portfolio for regulated pharmaceutical applications.”, states Henrike Bertz, responsible for Regulatory Affairs at AMINO. “L-aspartic acid is one of the growing products of our broad product spectrum, hence we are pleased that this amino acid is now registered in the United States.”, adds Kai-Philipp Thomas, Marketing & Sales Director of AMINO GmbH. By registering with the FDA, AMINO is able to expand its sales further, particularly targeted at pharmaceutical companies in the U.S with the amino acid L-aspartic acid.

L-aspartic acid is a proteinogenic amino acid and is used in many pharmaceutical and nutritional products.

The company announced further that it plans to register additional amino acids with the FDA as part of its internationalization strategy. "With the construction of our new plant and the registration of our products, we intend to service the increasing demand from our existing and new customers," explains Dr. Lutz Thomas, managing director of AMINO GmbH.

AMINO has been granted the Certificate of Suitability (CEP) for the production of L-histidine from fermentative origin by the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM).

“We are pleased to expand our CEP portfolio for regulated pharmaceutical applications.”, states Henrike Bertz, responsible for Regulatory Affairs at AMINO. “Histidine is one on the most uprising products of our broad product spectrum, hence we are very pleased that this amino acid is now CEP certified.”, adds Kai-Philipp Thomas, Marketing & Sales Director of AMINO GmbH.

L-Histidine is a semi-essential amino acid and is used in many pharmaceutical products and infant formula.

#seidnettzueinander is a campaign of the newspaper Braunschweiger Zeitung, in order to put the focus back on a respectful relationship with each other and to promote / enhance the understanding for each other.

Respect is one of the six corporate values ​​of AMINO GmbH. For this reason, we support the campaign of the Braunschweiger Zeitung, with which we show our colours for a more respect behaviour every day. Thus, AMINO sets an example for more politeness, gratitude and helpfulness within our society.

At the same time as the opening of the new Innovation Centre, the AMINO brand was sharpened and refined as part of a new communication strategy.

The modern logo symbolically combines the values of the company with the function of amino acids as the building blocks of life.

The six corporate values are thus reflected in the colour scheme of the logo. Each colour symbolises one of these values on which AMINO's self-image is based: Integrity, performance, communication, respect, responsibility and sustainability.