Robert Noble

About Robert

Robert Noble joined Sterling in 2012 following a 30 year distinguished career in the Pharmaceutical Sector. His role is to expand Sterling’s engineering services offering and deepen support services to existing clients already engaged in this sector.

Robert was the former Director of Technology and Design Engineering for Abbott Labs’ Global Pharmaceutical Operations. He has chaired the Packaging Equipment for Pharmaceuticals (PEP) Industry Group for ten years and served on the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute’s (PMMI) Packaging Management Council for seven years. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois and has an MBA from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management.

Project Highlights:

Manorhamilton, Sligo, Ireland

• Directed a cross-functional team to assess and select the location for a Potent Drug Manufacturing Facility, resulting in the selection of the Manor Hamilton site in Sligo, Ireland.
• Developed comprehensive front-end planning, including site layout, equipment selection, and construction strategies for a greenfield plant.
• Designed and oversaw the installation of a state-of-the-art potent tablet coater.
• Oversaw the planning for the expansion of the plant to accommodate new product implementations.

 

Sligo Medical Device Plant & Irish Third-Party Medical Device Component Sites

• Directed the manufacturability design of a combination product auto-injector, optimizing production efficiency and quality.
• Managed a team responsible for coordinating third-party component manufacturing and final product assembly and packaging.

 

Cork, Ireland

• Managed a multi-plant team to transfer several product lines from Puerto Rico to the Cork facility.
• Oversaw equipment procurement and modifications, technology transfer, and the regulatory approval process.

 

Queensborough, UK

• Identified and resolved a critical liquid manufacturing issue, preventing worldwide supply interruption for a life-saving pharmaceutical product.

 

Ludwigshafen, Germany

• Led the Capital Plan and execution of serialization/track-and-trace systems to meet global regulatory requirements.
• Managed the selection and purchase of process equipment for a pharmaceutical extrusion suite.

 

Campoverde, Italy

• Executed Capital Plans for serialization/track-and-trace systems aligned with worldwide standards.
• Directed the introduction of a new product, requiring the design and construction of a new production process suite.
• Implemented packaging line automation and efficiency enhancements.

 

Breda, Netherlands

• Managed the development and implementation of packaging equipment for a greenfield high-rise automated warehouse.

 

Membership organisations include:

• International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineers