PRESS RELEASE
Grupo Indukern in facts
❖ Multinational family-owned group.
❖ Founded in 1962 by José Luis Díaz-Varela.
❖ Comprises three main companies:
o Indukern (1962) – chemical sector
o Calier (1968) – veterinary laboratory
o Kern Pharma (1999) – pharmaceutical laboratory
❖ Consolidated turnover of €755 milion:
o Indukern: €503 million
o Calier: €69 million
o Kern Pharma: €207 million
❖ International operations account for 55% of the group’s business, while
Spanish operations account for 45%.
❖ Subsidiaries in 19 countries. Markets its products in over 80.
❖ A workforce of over 1,700 staff worldwide, 1,100 of which in Spain.
❖ Headquarters in Barcelona.
Grupo Indukern:
A diverse, international group in continuous expansion
Grupo Indukern was created in 1962 as a small, family-run business. Its founder José
Luis Díaz-Varela, an entrepreneur with an international vision, chose to base the
company in Barcelona, a port city, with considerable industrial infrastructure and a
strong presence in the chemical, pharmaceutical and veterinary industries. The
business originally focused on the distribution of chemical products with a clear
mission to become a leading company thanks to its excellent production processes and
prime quality products.
Business diversification, international expansion and exploitation of opportunities in
the countries where it currently operates have been the keys to the company’s success
and constant growth in markets and products.
Grupo Indukern currently comprises three main companies that operate primarily with
basic necessity products: Indukern, dedicated to the distribution of chemicals and
higher value-added activities including formulation, production and technical advice
for various industrial sectors; Calier, whose activity is focused on researching,
developing, manufacturing and marketing pharmacological and biological products for
veterinary use; and Kern Pharma, a pharmaceutical laboratory dedicated to generic
medicine, biosimilar products, self-care products, women’s health products, sports
nutrition and health, and production for other companies.
Currently, the company bills €755 million, with 55% of sales pertaining to external
markets and 45% to the Spanish market. With over 1,700 employees worldwide, the
company has branches in 19 different countries and products marketed in over 80.
Grupo Indukern’s headquarters in Barcelona
Indukern, global leader in fine chemical distribution
Indukern is the embryo of what is today known as Grupo Indukern. It is currently a key
player in the areas of fine chemistry marketing and distribution and higher valueadded activities of formulation, production and technical advice for various industry
sectors.
Its activity revolves around three lines of business:
•
•
•
Intermediation between suppliers of raw materials and manufacturers of finished
products in sectors such as human food, flavourings and fragrances, pharmacy,
veterinary and animal nutrition and industrial chemical products.
Representative of some of the leading global manufacturers in the sectors in which
it operates.
Development of its own products, which are adapted to meet our clients’ needs
thanks to a profound knowledge of the market, and its technical advice services.
Indukern’s turnover reaches €503 million. International operators make up 64%,
mainly from European countries (31%) and Latin America (28%) –where it is a leading
company in countries like Brazil and Mexico – and 36% from Spain.
With a workforce of over 550 employees, 200 of which in Spain, it has subsidiaries in
Brazil, China, Colombia, India, Mexico, Portugal, Switzerland and Turkey and is present
via representation in Bulgaria, France, Italy, Poland, Czech Republic and Romania.
Additionally, its presence in China and other developing countries offers its valuable
access to certain ingredients, and enables it to provide a wide range of products to
global and local clients.
The company is leader in markets such as Brazil and Mexico. In Brazil, it reinforced its
presence with the acquisition at the beginning of 2016 of 75% of Brazilian company
Hexus Food Ltda., focused in development and marketing of ingredients and solutions
for the chemical industry. At the beginning of 2017 in Mexico, the company bought
Cytecsa, a leading company in the Aztec country in the development and marketing of
premixes and technology solutions for the dairy, cheese and ice cream industry.
Indukern has five divisions: Veterinary and Animal Nutrition, Flavourings and
Fragrances (F&F), Food, Industrial Chemistry and Pharmaceuticals. The clear mission in
each division is to be more than mere intermediaries in the supply chain; to offer
clients company products and associated services as well as significant expertise and
extensive penetration in their markets.
In the distribution sector, logistics is the key to offering a competitive advantage. That
is the reason why Indukern provides an extensive infrastructure around the world, to
enable them to meet the needs of their clients on a national and international level.
In Spain, Indukern has facilities in Burgos, Fuenlabrada (Madrid), Sentmenat
(Barcelona) and the Logistics Activities Area (ZAL) at the Port of Barcelona. Specifically
in ZAL, Indukern has a Research and Development Centre, which comprises a
laboratory and two pilot plants where it designs and produces food solutions for dairy
products, cheese, drinks, processed meat, pastries, bread and sauces for the Food
Division. In ZAL, the Flavourings and Fragrances (F&F) Division has an innovative
laboratory for raw materials’ development and quality assurance.
Indukern has also facilities in Hamburg (Germany), Jundaí (Brazil) –the largest logistics
platform in Latin America– and Jalisco (Mexico).
Indukern’s logistic facilities in the Logistics Activities Area (ZAL)
at the Port of Barcelona
Calier, committed to animal health and wellbeing
Calier specializes in the research, development, registration and marketing of products
for veterinary use on production and company animals. Currently, the company has
more than 1,400 products registered in 80 countries worldwide, of which more than a
hundred were developed internally and these are destined for production animals
company animals and horses.
In 2015, the consolidated billing of Calier amounted to €69 million, with 76% sales
pertaining to external markets, mainly Europe (23%), Latin America (where 37% of its
international business is concentrated) and Africa (11%), while 24% corresponded to
the Spanish market.
All of this activity is possible thanks to a highly specialized workforce of more than 350
employees, the latest technology, state-off-the-art development and manufacturing
facilities in Les Franqueses del Vallès (Barcelona), which complies with Good
Manufacturing Practices (GMP) regulations, and a development and production centre
in León.
Calier also has a production centre in Montevideo (Uruguay) and another one in Cali
(Colombia), after the acquisition of Laboratorios Laverlam, focused in research,
development, manufacture and commercialization of Biological products for
Agricultural, Livestock and Aviculture industries. The company has manufacturing
agreements in Morocco and Argentina and subsidiaries in Germany, Argentina,
Colombia, Italy, Morocco, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and
Venezuela.
The company’s growth strategy includes continuing to promote its internationalization
drive –through organic growth or acquisitions- as well as extending its current product
portfolio and focusing on the development and marketing of biological products for
veterinary use. Calier was the first laboratory in the market to launch an avian
vaccination against Salmonella enteritidis entirely developed in Spain, making it one
the pioneers at the forefront of avian biological products.
Currently, the company is investing almost €20 million to convert its facilities in León
into a state-of-the-art plant in the research and development of biological medicines
for animal health.
The Calier premises in Les Franqueses del Vallès (Barcelona)
Kern Pharma, a diversified pharmaceutical laboratory
Kern Pharma is a diversified pharmaceutical laboratory providing solutions for
patients, to improve their health and quality of life, for doctors and pharmacists
though a broad range of medication, while contributing towards the sustainability of
the social-health system. Its vade mecum comprises 200 products in over 570 formats.
Today, its activity revolves around six main lines of business:
•
Generic: the company’s generic drug portfolio includes 145 molecules in over 450
formats that cover 90% of prescription needs in 18 therapeutic areas. On average,
the laboratory launches 25 new drugs each year (in 2016, it launched 22 new
products and 34 new formats). Some of its products are market leaders, such as
Kern Pharma Paracetamol and Ibuprofen. Currently, Kern Pharma is the fourth
generic drug laboratory in Spain in terms of volume of turnover.
•
Kern Pharma Consumer: Under this brand name, the company markets nonprescription drugs, non-financed prescription drugs and self-care products. A
remarkable novelty is Ibudol, the first oral solution ibuprofen in stick pack
marketed in Spain.
•
Kern Pharma Biologics: The division of Kern Pharma is focused on biosimilar
medication. The company was the first Spanish laboratory to market the first
biosimilar monoclonal antibody (mAb) authorized by the European Medicines
Agency (EMA) –Remsima®-, thanks to the agreement reached with Korean
biopharmaceutical company Celltrion Healthcare.
•
Gynea: Under this brand, Kern Pharma markets products for the women’s health
products division, with and extensive portfolio in the area of gynecology.
•
Finisher®: Focused on sports nutrition and health, this is a range of products
especially designed for before, during and after physical activity for people who
maintain a healthy lifestyle and athletes who require nutritional supplements
adapted to their needs.
•
Production for other companies: Kern Pharma has always enjoyed a good
relationship with important companies in the sector who have assigned them to
manufacture their products.
With a workforce of 750 people, Kern Pharma bills €207 million, 77% of which
corresponds to Spain and 23% to international markets. Today, the company
distributes its products in more than 55 countries, and it has a branch in Portugal –
Pharma Kern- and commercial infrastructure in Colombia and Panama. It is also
strengthening its internationalization process through agreements with local
distributors.
Kern Pharma’s extensive facilities of 59,000m2 in Terrassa (Barcelona) comprise a
production plant, a logistics centre, and chemistry plant, laboratories and an office
area. It produces in excess of 100,000 units per year, thanks to sophisticated
automated machinery used for the production and distribution of products. This places
Kern Pharma in 3rd position in the ranking of manufacturing laboratories of generics in
Spain per volume of units, and as trustworthy supplier for recognized companies in the
sector who appoint them for the manufacture if their products.
Picture of one of the packaging lines in the
Kern Pharma production line in Barcelona
From the outset, the company has always backed innovation, quality and continued
investment in research and development, working to constantly improve its products
and offer greater added value to professionals and patients alike.
The company’s growth strategy for the coming years will revolve around its established
business lines –in other words, generics, self-care, biosimilar products, women’s
health, sports nutrition and health, and manufacturing for other companies –where it
aims to increase turnover.
The laboratory also has a major commitment to driving its Strategy and Development
Area, made up for a team of more than 60 people and in which it invested €8.3 million
in 2016. Its objective is to develop new products and improve those that already part
of its vade mecum via new pharmaceutical technologies. Moreover, the company also
has plans to continue investing in its facilities and expanding and improving the
laboratory facilities at its plant in Terrassa.
Representatives
Raúl Díaz-Varela
Executive Vice President of Grupo Indukern
CEO of Kern Pharma
A degree in Business Science, MBA from
ESADE and Master in Foreign Trade from the
Community of European Management
Schools (CEMS) in St. Gallen, Switzerland.
He has dedicated his entire career to the
family business, within the chemicalpharmaceutical industries at Grupo Indukern,
in managerial positions in Industrial Kern
Spain, and Indukern in Asia, Switzerland and
Hong Kong.
Since 1999, the year Kern Pharma was
founded, he has directed the pharmaceutical
side of the Group. He is president of the
AESEG, which governs the generic drug
industry in Spain.
la patronal de la industria farmacéutica de
medicamentos genéricos en España.
For further information, please contact:
Mercè Mascarell
Atrevia
Press Office at Grupo Indukern
 93 419 06 30
 [email protected]
Susana Vilas
Communications Director of Grupo Indukern
 93 700 25 25
 [email protected]