Open Day at the Lendava site of Lek, a Sandoz company

The Lendava site of Lek, a Sandoz company, has been continuously growing and developing for over 30 years. Under the umbrella of Lek, a Sandoz company, three units operate at the Lendava site: the Anti-infectives Production Unit, the Packaging Center and the Lendava Wastewater Treatment Plant. In total, the site employs more than 330 associates. More than 90% of the employees come from the local area. Lek, a Sandoz company, thus maintains the role as a major employer in the region where unemployment is otherwise an issue of great concern.

Sandoz is aware of the importance of the Lendava site; therefore it has invested more than 110 million Euros in the development and modernization of production capacities at the entire site over the last 10 years. One of the major investments, worth more than 24 million EUR, is the newly opened Lendava Packaging Center.

Strengthening of cooperation with the local community and environmental investment

The business of Lek, a Sandoz company, is based on a long-term strategy that includes social responsibility in all areas of operation; this includes also an active involvement in the local community. Lek, a Sandoz company, therefore supports various projects and organizations in Lendava as well as in the wider region. For a number of years they have been closely cooperating with teachers and children of the Bilingual Primary School II Lendava and carrying out various activities, primarily associated with adolescents and children with developmental disabilities. Among other things, they have organized a Natural Science Day for the students of the Bilingual Primary School II Lendava a number of times, participated in the organization of a national music show and helped organize the 15th Special Olympics for the Maribor-Pomurje region. As a supporter of the Little House of Experiments project, Lek, a Sandoz company, enabled the Bilingual Primary School II Lendava to be the first school to host a visit of this mobile house of experiments.

In September, Lek, a Sandoz company, opened together with the Red Noses regular visits of clown doctors to the paediatric department of the Murska Sobota General Hospital. In addition, Lek, a Sandoz company, supports also some other associations and institutions in the region, including the Zarja Society for helping people in distress, Ozara Slovenia – the national association for quality of life, the Pomurje Safe House, the Youth Council Lendava, the Bilingual Primary School Lendava, the Bilingual Secondary School, the Home for the Elderly Lendava and the Youth Care and Education Center Veržej.

Sandoz’ fundamental approach to caring about the environment is to prevent all kind of pollution. Environmental, health and safety risks that could impact the environment, the employees and local population are reduced to the lowest possible level. In the process of waste management, the volumes of waste raw materials have been gradually reduced or recycled and the waste re-utilized to the greatest possible extent. Unpleasant odours are reduced by biofiltration of air.

»We have improved several environment-related aspects of the manufacture of anti-infectives. By additional investment and modernization we have successfully reduced a specific use of the ground water for the purpose of cooling the industrial processes. We re-directed the outflow of the used cooling water from a small recipient into the Mura river and started to utilize the excess heat from incinerator’s waste gasses«, said Gizela Štampar, Head of Anti-infective Production at Lendava.

Lek, a Sandoz company, invested in total 2.9 million EUR for environment protection.