The family owned business, Kraeber GmbH & Co, is an independent, technology based enterprise. Founded on the 1st January 1980 as Kraeber & Co. GmbH in Hamburg. It has continued since 1986 as Kraeber GmbH & Co.Hanseatic tradition together with courageous entrepreneurship characterize our company. We are committed to open and global competition which we stand up with our service capabilities. Our emphasis is the development, production, marketing and sales of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) of the highest purity. Kraeber has evolved into a niche marketer and supplier. By continously innovating productions, we became the quality market leader in Europe and in other parts of the world for many of our products.We supply chemicals, biochemicals and animal blood fractions to the pharmaceutical, biotechnological, cosmetical, veterinary and both the human and animal food supplement and nutraceuticals industries. Also intermediates and high purity substances are offered for laboratory and research. These substances are available in bulk, not as finished preparations, to avoid any competition with our customers.Reliability, fairness and responsibility have a high value in the relationship with our customers and our employees. Continuity, quality and the documentation of the quality procedures are the basis of our business.We understand the term quality as being excellency in processing and analytical control and prompt customer service. It also involves well documented production and testing methods in cGMP conditions and in the documentation as AMSF in CTD format; thus enabling our customers to register their products. We wish to convey all the necessary advantages to our customers in order that they succeed.Our "Total Quality Management" system includes a "Site Master File" as per PIC-Document PH 06/91, cGMP, used for the production and the documentation of human and veterinary APIs, the installation, qualification, validation of the production site and equipment, the production processes and the documentation, the permanent education and qualification of our personel. This was backed up in 2001 by the installation of state of the art data processing equipment and the "CHARISMA" software supplied by GUS AG, K?ln, for the handling of the commercial and quality documents following the GMP requirements. The software has been validated in 2006. Also in 2006 we have been certified to ISO 9001:2000.To maintain our financial independence we follow a conservative cautious policy with financial planning and controlling. Profits are used primarily to strengthen our assets and to promote expansion. We do not follow the idea of 'shareholder value' but the utility for the company and the employees.To reach our aims of gaining higher benefits we employ well trained, motivated employees working in an independent, selfmotivated way in their area of responsibility. We have a profit center system and the employees participate in a profit linked bonus system. We take our social responsibility and give a high priority to the interests of the employees by securing jobs and apprenticeships. Safety and environmental protection also has high priority. We have, for example, installed a photovoltaic system with 44.5 kWp / 36.5 kWh. A geothermic system for heating and cooling is planned.Business DevelopmentWith the overall upturn in the development of the biotechnology market since 1997 and the increased demands of several customers, it was evident and appropriate that relocation was necessary in order to expand production facilities. Therefore, Kraeber acquired a production and office facility in Ellerbek in 1998 / 1999. A fully functional newly furnished production was installed in 1999. In 2002 the office space was extended and in 2008 further clean-rooms for the production have been installed. There remains space for further expansion.The production laboratory and documentation has been built according to cGMP for the manufacture of pharmaceutical active ingredients. Class B, C, and D clean rooms with working area A have been installed and there is a deep-freezing room to store products at -20 °C as well as freezing rooms and cooled production areas also meeting class C.Kraeber intends to concentrate its own production efforts in Ellerbek on blood fractionation and the extraction of materials from animal tissues. The company will continue to have joint ventures and co-operations with small to medium sized manufacturers and laboratory organisations who are specialists in production but who require the sales and marketing expertise of Kraeber. This strategy has proven to be successful and has enabled Kraeber to retain flexibility and to meet the demands of the customers without affecting security of supplies, quality and continuity.Caused by changes in the German laws it was necessary to restructure the company. The Kraeber & Co GmbH, Rellingen, which is the unlimited partner in the Kraeber GmbH & Co, Ellerbek, changed its name to Kraeber Verwaltung GmbH.The shareholders are Anja Kuhnert (98%), Jens-Uwe Kraeber (1%), and Jan Michael Kraeber (1%), who are also the Managing Directors in both companies. Franziska Faber is limited shareholder in the Kraeber GmbH & Co and signs with authorized signatory.Research and DevelopmentThe quality of our products is continuously improved by innovations in production processing, analysing, documentation and service.Quite often the improvements in analytical developments, documentation and customer services are stimulated by the demands and feedback of customers. Furthermore, in the case of analytical requirements, the company works closely with independent laboratories and research institutes. In general, production and processing improvements will continue to be carried out in our own laboratories, where necessary, with the companies to whom subcontract manufacture is placed. Part of the used know how is given by our customers, partly it is acquired from other sources.In the area of product research Kraeber will continue to concentrate on the following subjects: biological and microbiological substances, animal blood fractions and other animal extracts, carbon hydrates, organic chemical active ingredients, excipients and intermediates for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, diagnostic, cosmetic and health food industries.Glucosamine compounds and Chondroitin sulfate we supply as such or as blends with different specifications as Nutraceuticals or feed supplements that helps against Osteoarthritis / in the maintenance of healthy joints.Results of our research and development are the following products:l-Erythrulose, an amino sugar and skin tanning agent. Hematoporphyrin Base + HCl Glutardiadehyde-bis-Sodium Bisulfite