BGS Beta-Gamma-Service Plans its First U.S. Facility

BGS Beta-Gamma Service is establishing an international presence.

The German sterilization provider plans to open a new 100,000-square-foot E-Beam sterilization plant in Imperial, Pa., near Pittsburgh International Airport. The facility is expected to officially open in mid-2025 and will operate as BGS US LLC with former Raumedic Sales Vice President Leonard Zuba as its general manager. Bert Whitt, who has extensive experience in medical device radiation sterilization, will serve as operations manager.

“We are delighted that our initial expansion outside of Germany will be in Pittsburgh,” Zuba said. “Pittsburgh’s proximity to key markets in the [U.S.] Northeast, Midwest, and South makes it an excellent location for our facility. Interest from customers and prospects regarding our ability to support them in the U.S. convinced us there is a growing demand for E-Beam technology in the United States. Government officials have been extremely helpful with accelerating the approval process for obtaining various permits.” 

The Motivation for Expansion
For decades, ethylene oxide (EtO) sterilization has been the preferred sterilization method for medical devices in the United States. In recent years, growing awareness of the environmental hazards associated with the technology, along with an increasingly difficult-to-obtain supply of Cobalt-60, have threatened domestic sterilization capacity. Viable alternatives such as E-Beam sterilization are not as widespread in the United States.

“The availability of sterilization capacity poses major challenges for U.S. manufacturers of medical devices, and pharmaceutical and biotechnology products,” BGS Beta-Gamma-Service GmbH Managing Director Dr. Andreas Ostrowicki noted. “As a result, supply chain bottlenecks occur frequently. With our new plant in Pittsburgh, we are helping to meet the need for sterilization services with our ionizing radiation technology.”

BGS Beta-Gamma-Service’s new facility will be equipped with highly efficient electron accelerator technology and fully automated product handling systems.

The techniques that BGS US will use in Pittsburgh have proven to be effective at the company’s three sites in Germany. The company has helped pioneer the use of E-Beam technology and operated one of the first facilities of its kind. Earlier this year, the company expanded its logistics space at its original location in Wiehl, Germany, near Cologne.

BGS Beta-Gamma-Service uses beta- and gamma-ray radiation sterilization technology for medical devices, pharmaceutical packaging, and biotechnology products. The company also uses those technologies for radiation crosslinking to serve customers throughout Europe in the automotive, mechanical engineering, infrastructure, and electrical products sectors. Established more than 40 years ago, the privately held BGS Beta-Gamma-Service employs more than 200 people, operates three facilities in Germany, and is expanding its operations into the United States.