"Separation" from Sandoz

Order books full: “Novartis is bigger than ever”

Roland Gander (left) is the Managing Director of Novartis in Kundl and Schaftenau.(Bild: Christof Birbaumer/Novartis/Krone KREATIV)

The Managing Director of Novartis in Tyrol explains the reason for the "separation" from Sandoz, reveals the turnover for this year, talks about investments and is pleased about "full order books". The boss also has no complaints about the shortage of skilled workers.

Novartis and Sandoz, which specialize in the manufacture and distribution of pharmaceuticals, have been going their separate ways for some time. Of course, they still work together here and there. The "separation", which was advantageous for both, has not yet really been accepted by the public.

This is one of the reasons why Roland Gander paid a visit to the "Krone". On the one hand, he is the Global Head of Biologics at the nine sites from the USA to Singapore. Two of these are located in Kundl and Schaftenau. On the other hand, Gander has also been the Managing Director there since January 1st.

Novartis Managing Director Roland Gander in an interview with "Krone".(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

Sales of 1.2 billion dollars expected this year
"At Novartis, we are primarily focused on research and development," explains the Managing Director, "which also includes clinical trials." There are 3300 employees in Kundl and Schaftenau alone. "While things look bleak in other areas of the industry, our order books are full for the next few years," says Gander happily.

He expects sales of 1.2 billion dollars this year, "for 2025 we are expecting further linear growth of ten to 15 percent. Novartis is bigger than ever.

We go into schools, technical colleges and universities and draw attention to ourselves at an early stage.

Roland Gander

200 million dollars are invested every year
Another impressive figure he has in his luggage: "We invest around 200 million dollars a year in Tyrol." The coming years will be about expanding production on the one hand - a new plant was only put into operation this year, with the second to follow in 2025 - and sustainability on the other. A lot has already been done in this regard in recent years. "We want to be completely CO₂-neutral by 2040," reveals Gander.

Incidentally, he can't complain about a lack of employees. "We go into schools, technical colleges and universities and draw attention to ourselves at an early stage."