Success Story: medmix Switzerland AG on the way to a paperless factory

medmix Switzerland AG produces four billion plastic parts per year by injection molding. A look at medmix’s production facilities in Haag, Switzerland, reveals how this can be achieved and how this can lead to an increase in productivity of more than ten percent.

If you regularly visit your dentist, you have certainly come into contact with the products of medmix Switzerland AG – in the best sense of the word. After all, the syringes and cannulas in which contain pastes, jellies and fillings for the preservation of the teeth are from Sulzer. The company is the world market leader in the production and distribution of products for dispensing, exact mixing and precise application. High-precision solutions are used in medicine, healthcare and beauty as well as in industry and construction.

So that these products are absolutely safe and function reliably, all parts must be manufactured with attention to detail. A high expectation on the manufacturing process. Critical parameters such as the composition of raw materials, homogeneity of the material mixtures, temperatures, pressure in the injection mold along with the quality of the mold and the cooling process must be precisely coordinated. Because error means stopping the machine, sort out the faulty parts and reset the system. That costs a lot of time and money. “By digitizing our production, we can now reduce such downtimes to a minimum or even avoid them altogether. Because process steps such as planning, procurement, the setup of machines, operation, maintenance and quality control can be perfectly coordinated,” says Ronny Graf, Head of Injection-Molding Department at the Haag production site in Switzerland.

MES HYDRA beats competitors

As early as 2013, Graf and his team of six introduced the Manufacturing Execution System (MES) HYDRA from MPDV at medimix. Even then, it was clear to everyone involved that they needed a solution that would make the manufacturing process transparent and not only collect data, but also analyze and control it. “We therefore discussed many options in advance and looked at various providers. But with MPDV, the overall package was just perfect,” says Graf. It was particularly important to the team that the solution could be connected to the SAP system via standardized interfaces and that it offered sophisticated planning functions. Another requirement was that the MES was easy to use and that the company winning the contract should have subsidiaries in Asia. “This was particularly important to us in view of a later deployment in China,” says Graf. MPDV fulfilled all these criteria and so the decision for HYDRA was made.

The introduction ran smoothly – and quickly − right from the start. Only nine months passed from kick-off to go-live at the beginning of 2013. Mr. Graf and the team introduced the single modules step by step. In phase one, they first implemented the three modules Shop Floor Scheduling (HLS), Shop Floor Data (BDE) and the Tool and Resource Management (WRM) at their headquarters Haag, Switzerland. The module Machine Data (MDE) was added in a second phase. Meanwhile, 120 injection molding machines and 42 automatic assembly machines are connected to HYDRA at the Haag location. Since 2014 the location in Shanghai and since 2018 the location in Wroclaw, Poland have also been using HYDRA. “It’s simply brilliant what we’ve achieved over the last few years. I am very proud of what we accomplished together with MPDV. The MES has highlighted weak points which we have improved, and we are on the best way to a paperless factory,” says Graf, who made a key contribution to success as project manager.

„By digitizing our production, we can now reduce downtimes to a minimum or even avoid them altogether. Because process steps such as planning, procurement, the setup of machines, operation, maintenance and quality control can be perfectly coordinated.“

Ronny Graf, Head of Injection Molding Department at medmix

More transparency, improved delivery times

Especially the excellent communication between the ERP system and HYDRA has a number of benefits. After all, the planning department can transmit production orders directly to production and react quickly to changes. The MES in turn reports back the number of parts actually produced and the status of the machine. If the output of a machine is lower than planned, orders are distributed quickly to other machines and delivery deadlines are met as planned. Previously, employees had to record the quantities produced per machine in Excel lists. It took a lot of time and if a machine failed, there was a lack of flexibility. ” With HYDRA we have improved our on-time delivery tremendously. We can now deliver around 98 percent of orders as planned, and our customers are satisfied,” says Graf.

Not only the customers, but also the employees quickly learned to appreciate the advantages of the MES. Thanks to the HLS, BDE and MDE modules, they can record and compare different production figures such as rejects or quantities in real time via a machine terminal. Also, the HYDRA-HLS module provides a 360° view of all required resources. For example, production can be proactively controlled with the Shop Floor Scheduling module and planned down to the smallest detail. This means that the employee always has an eye on all important resources and operators can react quickly to a failure of a machine.

Higher production capacity

Another advantage of HYDRA is the overall increased productivity of the machines. It can be measured using Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), which can be calculated from the factors availability, performance and quality. Via a traffic light system − green means okay, yellow warns and red means take action − the status of each machine is displayed to the employee. “This is how we can operate all 160 injection molding machines at optimum load. This has resulted in a total productivity gain of twelve percent in the first three years. We can therefore say that customers, employees and the company itself all benefit from the MES,” says Graf with a smile.

The 45-year-old is now a real expert on MES. He pushed the system implementation in the company from the beginning and accompanied every step. He now supports his colleagues worldwide in the use of HYDRA and answers technical questions. This task will become increasingly important in the future, as it is planned to roll out the MES in other countries. General development is also progressing at the site in Haag. New modules like Process Data for maintaining production parameters like temperature, pressure or flow velocity are to follow. Furthermore, medmix plans to equip every machine with its own terminal. Graf’s big goal is the paperless factory. The MES with its many applications is the final piece in the puzzle.

About medmix

medmix Switzerland AG is a former division of the Sulzer Corporation and was created in 2017 from the merger of the business unit Sulzer Mixpac Systems and the newly acquired businesses of Geka and PC Cox.

medmix develops cartridges, mixers and dispensers for the dental, adhesives and construction industries. medmix also manufactures brushes, applicators and packaging systems for the cosmetics industry.

The company has a total of 16 sales and production sites worldwide, including the USA, South America, Asia and Europe.

Most of the products are manufactured at their headquarters in Haag, Switzerland. The plant at this location receives around 11,000 orders per year and produces 6,700 product variants using 2,600 tools. Five dedicated employees carry out the planning using the HLS module. In addition, 65 terminals have been set up where 150 production employees log on and book orders.

Another 140 users of the HYDRA Office Client monitor the processes and handle reporting and master data. So far, there are three key users and two system administrators at this location.