Executive summary
Utz worked with one of the global pharmaceutical customers to develop customized reusable process trays for automated production lines. By providing sustainable and scalable solutions, Utz increased production efficiency, reduced manual labor, and ensured compliance with cleanroom regulations for pharmaceutical products. The process trays, which integrate seamlessly into complex multi-stage manufacturing systems, helped reduce time to market and minimize operating costs for global rollouts.
The customer
One of the world's active pharmaceutical manufacturers of cancer drugs in solid dosage form needs internal logistics packaging for automation from production but also from the supply chain. The customer specializes in the design and manufacture of medical devices and pharmaceutical products that require strict adherence to cleanroom standards and automation.
The challenge
Our customer is very successful in the research and production of cancer drugs. The company's successes can save lives worldwide every day. The pharmaceutical production process of such high potency drugs is highly complex and includes several stages such as the dispensing of raw materials, semi-finished and finished stages, and final compression or filling, followed by storage and packaging, before shipment.
The customer needed a high-quality process tray system that would allow automation, reduce manual handling and comply with cleanroom standards. Coordination between multiple teams—including engineers, system integrators, and machine manufacturers—was critical to ensure seamless integration and avoid costly delays.
The challenge is to find a suitable automation solution that is sustainable, can withstand cleanroom requirements and at the same time serves as a long-term storage solution. The expensive and sensitive anti-cancer tablets blisters should nevertheless go through automated processes while maintaining the highest quality.
The solution
Utz has developed a tailor-made modular process tray system tailored for pharmaceutical automation. These trays are designed to meet strict cleanroom standards while providing durability, reusability, and compatibility with automated systems. The trays facilitated cross-process automation and enabled efficient transport, positioning and stacking of medical components without manual intervention.
To ensure that the trays met the customer's exact specifications, Utz's design and sales teams worked closely with engineers from both the customer and the machine manufacturers. This early collaboration enabled Utz to develop process trays with integrated interfaces for automatic handling and identification, reducing investment costs and reducing production times.
Implementation process
- Early involvement: Utz got involved in the project as early as the conception phase to adapt the design of the tray to the customer's manufacturing requirements.
- Design prototyping: Utz's design team worked as an extension of the customer's technical department to develop and test prototypes before the production or assembly machines were built.
- Coordination with ecosystem partners: Utz coordinated closely with engineers, system integrators and packaging specialists to ensure that all technical requirements were met at every stage.
- Global rollout: The trays were deployed at the customer's global manufacturing facilities to ensure standardized processes across multiple regions and reduce time to market.
Due to the completely redesigned production line, many partners such as machine builders, logistics specialists, automation companies and tray suppliers had to work hand in hand to meet the customer's requirements. Time pressure, feasibility but also quality requirements have caused one or two loops in development. Thanks to the professional coordination and compliance with all deadlines, the successful introduction of the production line could be celebrated. In the meantime, there are even further developments of the original solution.
Findings
The cooperation with Utz brought numerous advantages to the pharmaceutical customer:
- Increased automation: The custom trays enabled automation at all stages of manufacturing, reducing manual labor and increasing throughput.
- Cost savings: The reusable trays had a life cycle of 10-15 years, reducing the need for single-use packaging and contributing to significant cost savings over time.
- Sustainability: At the end of their life cycle, the Utz trays were fully recyclable, which is in line with the customer's sustainability goals and supports a circular economy.
- Shortened time-to-market: With standardized trays that linked various sub-processes with each other, the time-to-market for pharmaceutical products could be significantly shortened overall.
- Quality and integrity of pharmaceutical product: was ensured at each step
- Compliance with Regulations: Strict compliance to all relevant in-house and industry led regulations were assessed and applied at each step.
The increase in efficiency, the high degree of automation and the cost savings have primarily driven this project. Looking back on the implementation, it can be said that all criteria have been met. Accordingly, this project is called an absolute example within the customer. The trays used have been in use since the introduction of the production line and if they are defective in the future, they can be 100% recycled by the Utz Group.
Customer testimonial
“The reusable tray solution developed by Utz has not only improved our production efficiency, but also helped us achieve our sustainability goals. Their commitment from the beginning ensured that we had the perfect solution for our automated cleanroom environment.”
— Senior Manager
Key takeaways
- Customized automation solutions: Utz's modular tray system supports pharmaceutical automation, increases production efficiency and reduces human intervention.
- Sustainability: The long service life and recyclability of the trays meet modern sustainability standards, making them ideal for environmentally conscious pharmaceutical companies.
- Early collaboration for success: Early involvement in the design phase ensures that solutions are perfectly aligned with customer needs, reducing delays and costs.
Interested in improving your pharmaceutical production processes?
Contact us for a non-binding exploratory discussion about our automation-enabled, sustainable packaging solutions and how we can help you achieve greater efficiency and scalability.
Request for consultation