On Friday 7 April, we celebrate World Health Day, with the slogan: "Health for all".

Three years ago, the global epidemic of Covid suddenly put health at the heart of our societies' concerns.

The development of vaccines, the strength of health systems, the link between environmental degradation and the emergence of new viruses, and the inequality of populations in terms of health care have all had major resonance in recent months. The Covid epidemic has also highlighted the issue of national autonomy, whether in terms of access to medicines or to enable our pharmaceutical industry to rapidly deploy industrial production of vaccines.

In this context of strong transition, EQUANS is proving to be a reliable partner for laboratories and health industry, to help them build clean rooms, install very cold tanks, but also to ensure the fire protection of sites, provide ultra-reliable air treatment, or optimize the predictive maintenance of sites through digital solutions. In biotechnology, in particular, the know-how of Pierre Guerin, a subsidiary of EQUANS, has earned it an international reputation.

The company designs and manufactures stainless steel tanks and automated production lines for the biopharmaceutical industries, more specifically fermenters for microbial cultures and bioreactors for cell cultures. This includes the production of blood derivatives, hormones, diagnostic products, monoclonal antibodies and microbial and viral vaccines for human and veterinary use.

In addition to fermenters and bioreactors, Pierre Guerin supplies its customers with stainless steel process vessels equipped with innovative mixing and agitation components, cleaning-in-place stations and control systems. Most of the solutions are tailor-made.

At Pierre Guerin, an increase in demand over the past two years has been noticed, driven by the growing activity of biopharmaceutical laboratories but also of Contract Manufacturing Organizations (CMOs), companies that produce under contract for the big names in the pharmaceutical industry.

In South Korea, for example, Pierre Guerin signed a contract in 2020 with Samsung Biologics, a major CMO and long-time customer, for the fourth building of its gigantic vaccine production site, near Seoul (production capacity: 256,000 liters). Pierre Guerin will build all the bioreactors on the site