A land of fitters – Business World

All new jobs are not as important. AstraZeneca’s new factory in Södertälje is an excellent example.

“It smacks future.” The words came from Prime Minister Stephen Löfven after news that Astra Zeneca will build a new production plant for biologics in Södertälje. The investment of over 2.3 billion and from 150 to 250 skilled jobs to be created in the coming years.

Otherwise associated AstraZeneca most the Swedish Life Science -sektorns decline. The company has put two of its three research facilities in Sweden – over 2000 skilled jobs are gone.

It fueled the debate on how Sweden really stands out as a research nation in global competition. And how can the right life science not to be one of Sweden’s parade branches? It is Sweden, in all cases, the Nobel Committee, who each year decide which are the finest researchers in medicine and chemistry. And that set the agenda for which research areas are hottest.

Everyone was excited about the news of the AstraZeneca Investment last Monday, not only Stefan Löfven. The message was that if this goes well, it may be more of the same. Astra Zeneca’s plan is a program in three parts where additional pharmaceutical plant included. The entire investment is at 8 billion and could result in a total of some 1 000 jobs.

CEO Pascal Soriot promised nothing, but pointed out that the possibility exists if the conditions are right.

So how big is the chance to Sweden rowing home the whole package?

AstraZeneca’s production facilities for pharmaceutical production in Södertälje – in Snäckviken and Gärtuna – among the largest in the world. It produces ten billion pills a year.

plant in Gärtuna is also one of the most effective available, this is the Group’s new medicines in tablet form in the production.

For over a decade, Gärtunafabriken methodically trimmed production processes, step by step. All the time to be more products coming out with less efforts. AstraZeneca has learned of the large caps neighbor in Södertälje, Scania, which is probably the best in Sweden for so-called Lean product. Lean originated in the Japanese automotive group Toyota and can be summarized by a manufacturing process to constantly strive to achieve the highest quality, shortest lead time and lowest cost.

It was a weighty reason to Astra Zeneca’s management chose to add the new factory in right södermanländska Gärtuna – before Singapore, UK, USA and Ireland.

Ett another plus in the side was a campus for education and research on the production and logistics in Södertälje, at the initiative of the previous government, together with the Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Astra Zeneca and Scania. On this campus is the idea that industrial research must be conducted and show the world that the Swedish state takes responsibility for training the skilled personnel needed by industry to cope with an increasingly tough global competition.

The message seems to have got through. The Government’s commitment was emphasized especially by the CEO Pascal Soriot.

But all the joy over the news last week despite, it is a question that lingers and the rub: Where does Sweden as a knowledge nation?

Undoubtedly Södertälje is of great importance to AstraZeneca. The total of seven production plants which manufacture drugs for more than a third of the group’s sales. Export value amounts to approximately SEK 39 billion – a figure that corresponds to 3.5 percent of Sweden’s total exports of goods.

Gärtunafabriken have shown heavy competence in factory processes. Is this putting together goods and products in a super-efficient way of becoming Sweden’s new specialty? Lacking the expertise that the research-intensive companies need?

An indication of this can be read in the Business World sister publication Ny Teknik’s annual review of the approximately 40 Companies in Sweden that has the greatest research and development. The survey last year showed that the ten largest R & D employers now have more than half of their research abroad.

At the same time global investments R & D dramatically, but it is obvious that the money does not land in Sweden.

Business investment in research and development is something that governments around the world desires high. They have a high added value for the country. New innovations and products spreading new jobs in other high-value sectors, in stages both before and after the actual R & D: n, for example, marketing and service of the products. High value added in the country’s production provides high wages and high yields in the community.

For the new Astra Zeneca plant in Södertälje will no doubt require highly skilled engineers, biologists and pharmacists. But it is not R & D jobs. That’s the problem.