SGH Medical Pharma opens Tunisia factory for medical packaging

TUNISIA – French group SGH Medical Pharma has inaugurated its first factory outside France in Mégrine, in the southern suburbs of Tunis, a 3,000-square-metre facility specialising in plastic medical devices, consumables and pharmaceutical packaging.

The facility manufactures high-precision plastic products for the medical and pharmaceutical industries. 

It includes cleanrooms and controlled-environment areas required to meet the quality standards governing medical device production. 

Controlled environments are essential for pharmaceutical packaging components, where particulate contamination, microbial ingress and dimensional variance can compromise sterility and dose accuracy across injectable, diagnostic and drug delivery applications.

Initial Investment Covered Cleanroom Space and Recruitment

Announced in 2024, the project initially involved an investment of €1 million (US$1.17 million) and was expected to create around 100 jobs. 

When announced in April 2024, the group said the initial investment, financed through its own funds, would cover development of a 3,000-square-metre facility including 300 square metres of cleanroom space, and recruitment of 60 skilled workers. 

According to France’s Directorate-General of the Treasury, the plant now employs around 100 people. 

The final investment amount was not disclosed at the inauguration.

Group Brings Over 40 Years of Plastics Expertise

Based in Saint-Marcellin in France’s Isère department, SGH Medical Pharma employs around 350 people, approximately 250 of whom work in France. 

The group designs and manufactures plastic medical devices, diagnostic components and pharmaceutical packaging, building on more than 40 years of expertise in plastics processing. Its history is rooted in several industrial businesses: ROVIP began developing healthcare activities in 1984, while Stiplastics was established in 1985. 

Rovipharm and Eskiss subsequently expanded the group’s expertise. 

In 2018, the creation of SGH Healthcaring brought several activities together under a single structure, and the group adopted the name SGH Medical Pharma in October 2022.

Tunisia Serves as Platform for Regional Expansion

The group aims to move closer to customers in North Africa, across the African continent and in the Middle East. 

When the project was announced, SGH Medical Pharma said it intended to bring certain operations in-house, including assembly, conditioning, marking and packaging activities previously outsourced. 

The group was already working with a Tunisian partner for these operations. 

The Mégrine plant complements the group’s three production sites in France, strengthening industrial capacity and supporting international development through production of medical devices meeting European market requirements.

Subscribe to our email newsletters that provide busy executives like you with the latest news insights and trends from Africa and the World. SUBSCRIBE HERE