About us

Leadership Team

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NiTech’s innovative team have a diverse range of skillsets in areas including process design, trouble shooting, chemistry, chemical engineering, reaction engineering, crystallisation and biotechnology/pharma.

We have extensive experience, expertise and know-how in successfully transferring existing batch processes to continuous using our technology and in developing new innovative processes.

From laboratory to full commercial scale

NiTech designs reactors and crystallisers from laboratory and pilot-scale through to full commercial scale. Our engineering partner, Alconbury Weston Ltd. (AWL), manufactures, delivers and commissions NiTech reactors and crystallisers around the world. We also provide on-site training and on-going technical support.

Arkema DN15 from laboratory to full commercial scale

NiTech Corporate Presentation

NiTech Solutions 26 Oct 2018 (pdf)

History

2004

NiTech Solutions was formed in December 2004 as a spin-out company from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland, in order to commercialise its patented intellectual property in continuous oscillating baffle reactor (COBR) technology.

Founded by Professor Xiong-Wei Ni, FICChemE, FRSC, the company is a leading authority on delivering step-change process improvement benefits through the use of baffled reactor technology.

2005 →

More than 50 NiTech units have been installed since 2005 for academic, research and commercial organisations across the world. These range from small-scale lab units for R&D purposes to pilot and full-scale manufacturing units.

Clients

Our clients include major international manufacturers of chemicals (fine and specialty), food products and pharmaceuticals.

These companies are seeking innovative, more efficient and greener processes that meet customers’ needs for “right-first time” production.

NiTech’s first production-scale unit (pictured right) was installed by global healthcare company Sanofi in April 2007 at its Genzyme site in Haverhill, UK, where it still operates today (see case study). The company has since taken a second licence for a new, larger unit at Haverhill.

NiTech’s technology was also the inspiration for the Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Continuous Manufacturing and Crystallisation (Pictured below). CMAC was founded in 2012 by the UK’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) along with other major industry sponsors, including GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, Novartis, Croda International, Fujifilm and Genzyme among others, and investment has since reached £84m.

NiTech inspiration for Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Continuous Manufacturing and Crystallisation (CMAC)

Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Continuous Manufacturing and Crystallisation (CMAC) founded in 2012 by UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)

Sanofi Genzyme continuous pharma API plant

First NiTech production-scale unit installed in 2007 at Sanofi Genzyme

BASF NiTech clients Sanofi NiTech clients Arkema NiTech clients Corning NiTech clients CPI NiTech clients Croda NiTech clients

Our Approach

NiTech provides clients with continuous reaction and crystallisation solutions for their existing batch processes. NiTech’s business model consists of:

Selling laboratory, pilot- and commercial-scale units;
Providing process solutions to clients’ chemistry/processes; and
Licensing for full-scale manufacturing units.

NiTech works with clients under a two-way non-disclosure agreement to first identify, analyse and understand the process or chemistry. A feasibility study using NiTech’s equipment can then be performed to identify process improvements and benefits, progressing to pilot-scale trials and ultimately commercial-scale production.