Advanced Sterilization Products (ASP) has been a global leader in infection prevention for more than 25 years, specializing infection prevention technologies that improve patient care in hospital and medical facilities through terminal sterilization of medical instruments and devices. ASP’s technology uses hydrogen peroxide vapor to rapidly sterilize medical instruments, providing the highest standard of care for patients, instruments, healthcare workers and the environment. These systems use cartridges filled with hydrogen peroxide. This key component of ASP’s technology solution is manufactured in Schaffhausen. «The cartridges have to meet the highest standards of hygiene and quality», as Luigi Sorrentino, Vice President Global Operations at ASP explains, «and thanks to the highly skilled and well-trained staff available to us here, we can be confident we meet the required standards every time». Sorrentino heads up the company’s activities in Schaffhausen which cover two areas. «On the one hand, we have cleanroom production and packaging facilities for the disinfection cartridges and Schaffhausen is also our global HQ for Supply Chain Management – and that makes Schaffhausen a globally significant location for ASP», he sets out.

Schaffhausen is key global location 

Many thousands of disinfection cartridges are manufactured and dispatched around the world every week by ASP Schaffhausen. The production line is highly automated and operates around the clock, seven days a week. «We manufacture about 98 Percent of the demand for our sterilisation cartridges that are used in hospitals and labs worldwide right here in Schaffhausen. That is why our operation inhere is so important to us», comments Dominic Ivankovich, President of ASP, and the person responsible for leading Fortive’s acquisition. Up until spring 2019, ASP was part of the Johnson & Johnson organization, before the US technology company, Fortive, acquired ASP in one of its largest acquisitions. Fortive paid around CHF 3 billion for ASP, which employs more than 1300 people worldwide. How important the location is to Fortive becomes clear when Ivankovich refers to Schaffhausen as a «Core City». ASP only has four of those, with Schaffhausen being the HQ for a number of central functions of ASP’s global business operations.

«Schaffhausen offers truly excellent quality of life and high-quality infrastructure.»

Luigi Sorrentino, Vice President Global Operations, ASP

ASP wants to increase its investment

Around 100 staff work for ASP in Schaffhausen, according to Sorrentino, with half in manufacturing and the other half engaged in Supply Chain Management. Both areas are set to grow. «We are working on projects to further increase capacity and efficiency», Sorrentino explains. «Since ASP has joined the Fortive family, our staffing level has grown steadily and further growth is planned», he says. Finding new staff has thus far not been an issue for ASP, however. «The catchment area of Schaffhausen is really strong, thanks to its proximity to and easy access from Zurich and Winterthur as well as Southern Germany», he explains. «On top of all that and for those who don’t just want to commute, the region around Schaffhausen offers truly excellent quality of life and high-quality infrastructure.» When you’re recruiting managerial staff, those are factors not to be underestimated. They pull people in.

Schaffhausen trumps with its location, business environment and proactive Economic Promotion Team

This list of positives are also the factors which enable ASP to achieve the exceptionally high production and quality standards at its facility in Schaffhausen. «Switzerland is famous for quality and we only get that if we can recruit good, highly-skilled staff», Sorrentino continues. Further benefits of Schaffhausen in particular and Switzerland in general are proximity to and knowledge of trading with the European market, a stable political environment and the high degree of certainty on which planning can be based, with strong regional support for businesses another benefit. «The Economic Promotion Team and the Canton of Schaffhausen overall have always been supportive and were very proactively involved when Fortive was in the process of acquiring ASP», ASP President Ivankovich acknowledges, confirming the benefits which the company has enjoyed since moving to Schaffhausen.