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Maruho Hatsujyo Innovations (MHI) – the U.S. subsidiary of Osaka-based Maruho Co. Ltd, a leading Japanese dermatology pharmaceutical company with subsidiaries in Europe and the U.S. with global sales exceeding $700 million – has hired Timothy Saarinen as Chief Operating Officer of its Medical Packaging Machinery business. Dr. Saarinen will be responsible for directing and overseeing operations, developing sales personnel and channels, and strengthening products, services, and technical resources.
Before joining MHI, Dr. Saarinen worked for packaging provider Amcor, first as Commercial Director, North America and then General Manager, Mundelein. Prior to that, he was Vice President of Sales for Isotec.
Dr. Saarinen will focus on providing customer guidance and consultation for – and continuing to raise market awareness of – Eagle, the company’s debut U.S. blister machine. Since its introduction in 2016, the servo-driven Eagle has blazed a trail for additional compact, high performance blister machines planned for 2018, including the Spirit (lab scale), Patriot (small production), and Denali (large scale production). Together, the product line will serve a comprehensive spectrum of blister packaging applications.
Capable of handling all commonly used forming and lidding materials, the competitively priced Eagle can produce up to 100 blisters per minute at a maximum index length of 90mm and maximum index width of 130mm. The machine features fast, tool-free changeover in less than 10 minutes, offers multi-zone pre-heating, recipe-driven format change, and is compatible with third-party feeders. Other attractive attributes include ease of operation, user-friendly HMI, and easy expansion of feeder area when required.
In addition to his breadth of packaging industry experience, Dr. Saarinen also is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt – a respected managerial distinction.
“Timothy brings a depth of experience that will help pharma manufacturers and contract packagers appreciate the quality, precision and performance that Eagle offers, all in a compact footprint,” said Gregory Zaic, President and CEO of MHI. “He also will help spearhead the introduction of new equipment in 2018 and beyond, focusing on service and growth in the North American marketplace.”
Dr. Saarinen earned a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and a B.S. in Chemistry at Florida Atlantic University.
