Detecting tampering, safeguarding integrity, digitizing supply chains—these requirements are playing an increasing role in pharmaceutical packaging. With its new Cap-Lock Solution for Vials, Schreiner MediPharm in cooperation with CDMO OECHSLERhealth has developed a solution addressing precisely this challenge. The holistic security solution was unveiled at Pharmapack in Paris and met with strong interest.

The integrity of primary containers is of central importance along the entire pharmaceutical supply chain—from the filling stage to administration to the patient. In the case of vials, flip-off caps offer a certain level of protection but are prone to tampering without it being detectable by the user. That’s exactly where Schreiner MediPharm’s Cap-Lock comes into play by enabling a first-opening indication that is unequivocal, irreversible, and clearly visible. Due to the interlocking of the specially developed plastic cap from OECHSLERhealth with the flip-off cap of the vial, and the Cap-Lock Label applied on top of it featuring a special security design, any opening attempt is immediately visible, precluding any undetected recapping.

Analogue Security Meets Digital Intelligence
Besides its analog security function Cap-Lock for Vials supports digitalization of pharmaceutical applications. A label-integrated RFID chip enables digital first-opening indication and tracking of individual vials on unit level. The RFID functionality enables thus automated medication management in hospital settings and helps optimize processes and avoid inventory errors. Previously opened vials can be automatically detected, which signifcantly enhances patient safety. An additional NFC functionality enables smartphone-based authentication and supports product and brand protection.

Combined Expertise
The implementation of Cap-Lock for Vials is the result of the targeted collaboration of two specialists. While Schreiner MediPharm contributed its many years of expertise in the development of multifunctional high-tech labels and comprehensive RFID know-how, OECHSLERhealth designed the custom-fit plastic cap. The focus was on achieving an efficient, reliable, and feasible solution meeting the requirements of the pharmaceutical industry in terms of product and patient safety.

Strong Interest at Pharmapack
At Pharmapack in Paris, Schreiner MediPharm presented Cap-Lock for Vials to an international audience of industry professionals for the first time. Response at the trade show booth was very positive. Especially the combination of clear first-opening indication and digital functionality met with strong interest by pharmaceutical manufacturers and packaging experts. Cap-Lock shows how analog security and digital added value can be effectively combined and how innovative packaging solutions deliver concrete answers to growing demands made on product integrity, transparency, and automation.

How much a drug is exposed to oxygen often determines its stability and shelf life in the case of sensitive active ingredients (APIs). Schreiner MediPharm has developed functional labels with an integrated gas barrier specifically for prefilled COC syringes to reliably protect oxygen-sensitive substances such as biologics and biosimilars. Independent tests conducted by the Munich University of Applied Sciences now impressively demonstrate how effective this solution is.

Oxygen as a Risk
Compared to glass, COC syringes offer pharmaceutical manufacturers numerous benefits such as higher break resistance and lower weight. At the same time, their comparatively higher gas permeability poses a challenge, especially in the case of sensitive APIs because oxygen ingress can promote oxidation processes and thus impair the shelf life and efficacy of the substances.

Barrier in the Label
Functional labels with an integrated gas barrier offer an efficient way to clearly reduce oxygen diffusion. Schreiner MediPharm has developed a variety of label concepts for this purpose that can efficiently be implemented without requiring changes to the primary containers or existing production processes. These include the Gas-Protect-Label that covers a large part of the syringe body, and the Syringe-Closure-Wrap that additionally wraps around the syringe cap and is gastightly sealed at the top.

Proven Effectiveness
To objectively evaluate the protective effect of these solutions, the Munich University of Applied Sciences conducted extensive tests and calculations concerning oxygen ingress. The results showed that the increase in oxygen concentration is significantly retarded in labeled COC syringes. While in the case of an unlabeled syringe, the critical level of ten percent was reached relatively soon, that period was prolonged approximately by a factor of seven for instance with a 1-ml SCHOTT TOPPAC® syringe equipped with a Gas-Protect-Label compared to an unprotected 1-ml-syringe. The utilization of the Syringe-Closure-Wrap even resulted in as much as a ten-fold retardation.

Flexible and Tested
The test results impressively confirm the effectiveness of Schreiner MediPharm’s barrier labels. They provide pharmaceutical manufacturers with a validated, flexibly adaptable solution to reliably protect sensitive substances in COC syringes from oxygen ingress—individually adapted to the syringe type and API.

More fill volume, higher viscosity: Modern active ingredients (APIs) put totally new demands on syringes. With Needle-Trap, Schreiner MediPharm offers a unique label-based needle protection system that now is also available for large-volume syringes. The further development of Needle-Trap combines safety, cost efficiency, and sustainability.

Biologics and biosimilars are becoming increasingly important, with large-volume syringes up to 5 ml frequently being used for the highly viscous APIs with larger molecular structures. At the same time, the protection against needlestick injuries for users and healthcare staff remains indispensable. A protection that needs to be adapted to the changed requirements to achieve smooth processability in manufacturing environments and reliable functionality in final use.

Further Development for Larger Syringe Sizes
Schreiner MediPharm has subjected the proven Needle-Trap needle protection system to further development specifically for use with 2.25-ml-, 3-ml-, and 5-ml-syringes. Design and function of the label with an integrated needle trap have been adapted to the specific requirements of large-volume syringes. Extensive tests ensure that the needle protection label can be produced both with process stability at Schreiner MediPharm and reliably dispensed on systems in pharmaceutical manufacturing environments.

Sustainable, Efficient, and User-Friendly
The new version retains the special benefits of Needle-Trap. Compared to conventional needle protection systems or autoinjectors, the compact label design enables significant savings in terms of material consumption, costs, and CO₂ emissions. In addition, pharmaceutical manufacturers benefit from smooth integration into existing processes while end users are provided with ease of use and reliable protection against needlestick injuries. The innovative evolution is suitable for use with novel drugs and offers further potential for a cost-efficient and sustainable pharmaceutical supply chain.

Visitors strolling through LogiMAT 2026, the biggest logistics trade show, experienced an industry in a state of transformation: accelerated automation, increased use of AI, and the need for resource-conserving processes defined the atmosphere in the trade show halls.

The technological development in the mobility and industrial sectors is taking place at a fast pace. For many customer teams, that means acquiring new professional knowledge in increasingly shorter intervals enabling well-founded decisions. That’s where Schreiner ProTech comes in—with structured knowledge formats providing guidance and strengthening professional exchange.

Just like we normally carry an ID card or driver’s license with us to identify ourselves products are going to carry their digital identity with them in the future—inseparably linked to the physical component. That identity will accompany the product throughout its entire lifecycle, forming the basis for the Digital Product Pass (DPP) with which the European Union intends to promote transparency, traceability, and more sustainable usage models. Robust RFID solutions, provided by Schreiner ProTech among others, deliver suitable markings for that purpose.

As the number of electrified powertrains keeps growing the focus on safe handling of power electronics intensifies. Today, voltages of up to 800 volts are common in energy storage systems, inverters, and other live components—clearly more than just a few years ago.

The trigger was not only durability in the field, but above all everyday manufacturing reality. Different plate sizes, additional manual steps, and an embosser—a metal nameplate embossing machine—that was failing more and more frequently had turned metal labeling into a real bottleneck. “That was work that wasn’t standardized and wasn’t lean. I wanted to unify the process,” explains Pet Xaysombath, Senior Manufacturing Engineer at Boston Gear, describing the initial situation. Another issue added to the pressure: if the label is missing entirely, identification becomes detective work. Product Manager Rick Wucherer puts it this way: “Without labeling, assigning the product to its technical history turns into a reverse-engineering exercise—a huge effort and no fun at all.”

What was needed, therefore, was an alternative that could be seamlessly integrated into existing workflows: printable with existing thermal transfer printers, clearly identifiable via SAP, and robust enough to remain legible over the long term—even after painting and intensive cleaning. Working together with Schreiner ProTech, a two-layer paint mask label was developed. “The decisive factor was the combination of process integration and protection: a removable paint mask label and a laminate that reliably secures the data,” explains Schreiner’s Doug Stubbs, Sales Account Manager in Blauvelt. After the rollout, day-to-day production quickly revealed where standard solutions often fall short: oil residue, rough cast surfaces, and warm components initially caused the entire label to detach in some cases when the paint mask film was removed. Instead of changing the process, however, Schreiner ProTech customized the material to meet the customer’s specific requirements. “Since then, I’ve had zero complaints. I regularly walk the production line, and the new label just works,” Xaysombath says.

The next step at Boston Gear is already taking shape: standardization across additional product lines and sites—with the goal of treating labeling not as a standalone measure, but as a scalable building block for traceability and serviceability across the entire product lifecycle.

Between trade fair booths, live demonstrations, and professional conversations, there was one thing that soon became clear at Intertraffic in Amsterdam: Today, traffic and registration systems can hardly be imagined in isolation anymore. The crucial aspect is how identification, infrastructure, and data flows mesh. Exactly at that interface, Schreiner PrinTrust, DKT, and DataCollect engaged with a presentation that focused on fusing various technological levels into a joint approach.

This idea took on a tangible form at Schreiner PrinTrust, where evolutions of the Third License Plate—from RFID-UHF-based versions to hybrid variants with UHF and HF/NFC—took center stage.

The added value is evident in the process logic: Visual inspections and digital checks do not have to be mutually exclusive but can be pursued in parallel. That’s relevant especially where workflows are progressively automated but manual control steps continue to be important. The solutions were complemented by functional improvements including more precise tamper detection, optimized writability for customer-specific requirements, and additional design options at the front and back.

Another detail that received a lot of attention from government representatives, toll providers, and international system integrators visiting the trade fair booth was the combination of RFID and silver holograms. Where in the past design-related restrictions had to be considered in many cases, the current approach enables free holographic design—regardless of the RFID technology used and without any influence on radio performance, resulting in a closer interaction between visual checks and digital authentication.

DKT complemented this view as a manufacturer of vehicle license plates and traffic signs. DataCollect contributed the perspective of mobility data-with software for data acquisition, evaluation, and analysis.

As a result, Intertraffic became a suitable setting for new system architectures that envision traffic safety, efficiency, and digital control together. An approach that will continue to gain importance in the wake of increasing automation in the mobility environment.

Deep-freeze, heating, and weathering chambers next to shear benches, combustion chambers, and microscopes: With a wide range of testing methods, modern analysis methods, and long-standing expertise, the Research + Development Laboratory is an important innovation driver at Schreiner Group. It plays an important role in the development of innovative functional labels and technological solutions.

In the Research + Development Laboratory, sophisticated testing services are performed that satisfy the exacting demands of customers from sectors such as pharma, automotive, and general industrials. The diversity of available testing equipment enables the evaluation of all relevant characteristics of materials and functional elements under realistic conditions. Especially important is the compliant determination of adhesive properties according to FINAT standards supported by state-of-the-art measuring technology in a compliant air-conditioned laboratory facility.

Realistic Conditions

Services range from mechanical scratch and abrasion resistance tests to media resistance investigations concerning liquids from pharmaceutical and automotive applications. Alternating climate tests, UV weathering, or deep-freeze conditions down to -196 °C enable realistic load simulations and create a valid basis for evaluating functional materials and thus for high-tech labels. Specific testing equipment for pressure compensation seals as well as tests for flame retardancy and technical cleanliness complement the range of available tests.

In-Depth Analysis

Analytical methods such as IR and UV/ VIS spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, or contact angle measurements enable a more in-depth characterization of materials and surfaces. Additionally, for use cases in drug protection, measuring devices are available that enable tracking of the time-dependent increase of the oxygen concentration in pharma containers. This combination of modern testing methods and analytical procedures makes it possible to systematically drive material and technology innovations and to support customers in complex questions with solid professional expertise.

In-House Prototyping

Close integration with prototyping enables fast implementation and evaluation of new ideas on a laboratory scale. In addition, small series can be fabricated. The high professional expertise of the laboratory team secures reliable results and efficient development and qualification processes—as an important contribution to Schreiner Group’s innovation leadership adding value for the benefit of our customers.