The Keys to Future-Ready Healthcare Packaging: Exclusive Interview with Dylan Smith
1. Thank you for joining us today. Could you share a bit about yourself and your role at MGS?
Absolutely! I am a Pharma and Healthcare Sales Manager with Coesia and MGS, specifically focused on supporting our customers in the Southeast US. My background is in mechanical engineering, which supports my favorite part of my job: collaborating with clients on creative ways to solve packaging automation challenges.
2. MGS defines itself as an integration partner rather than just a supplier. What does this approach mean for those managing complex packaging operations?
MGS sees itself as a partner to our customers by collaborating closely in finding the right turnkey solution. Our approach isn’t just about selling machines. On each project, we commit to creating reliable, scalable, and efficient production lines.
We have a standard product offering but commonly customize this to fit our customers’ unique expectations. We are well versed in leveraging our engineering expertise to incorporate third-party OEM technologies while combining standard bases with engineered-to-order modules to create a complete solution.
We act as one source of contact for each project, supplying our own solutions while sourcing and integrating third party technologies to create a compliant line from end-to-end.
3. How does your adaptive engineering approach solve problems that standard machines cannot handle?
Every system is purpose-built. We design custom modules that integrate seamlessly into standard machine bases to solve unique packaging and product handling challenges. This ensures secure, optimized, and compliant solutions where traditional automation falls short.
While we do offer standardized machines, that isn’t always enough to be the right solution for our customers. Whether we’re facing requirements that are company specific or even site specific, we don’t make the customer adapt their process to our technology, we mold the solution to the specific business case of our partners.
4. Your solutions cover a vast range of formats, from auto-injectors to inhalers. How do you ensure flexibility across such diverse products?
Our technology is designed for fast changeovers. Whether the system we provided is engineered to handle kits, vials, syringes, or medical devices, we ensure our customers can quickly adapt to evolving market demands and packaging formats.
We understand that pharmaceutical and medical device packaging requires a large range of product configurations and orientations. The one consistency is that every project is unique and needs the correct attention to detail. To achieve this ability, we focus our solutions on standardized platforms and core technologies that can be expanded upon to meet a specific challenge. The standardized foundation ensures flexibility while leaving the door open for future possibilities.
5. Orienting "hard-to-handle" products is a well-known challenge. How do your custom infeed systems address this?
MGS excels in handling unstable or complex products. We automate transfers with custom-built infeed systems that ensure millimeter-level precision in orientation and insertion. This delivers total product control, high throughputs, and a significant reduction in waste and downtime.
6. Regarding scalability, how do you support manufacturers in choosing the right level of automation?
We offer total modularity, ranging from single units to complete turnkey lines. We support customers in transitioning to scalable automation that grows alongside their production needs while maintaining process stability throughout.
The first step is identifying the standard portfolio offering that can solve the customers’ needs. This foundation is then a customizable platform to meet the right level of automation. We do this while designing the line with the ability to expand with operations and adapt to market demands.
7. Compliance is a pillar of the Pharma industry. How do you simplify the validation process for your customers?
MGS designs with compliance in mind from day one, utilizing in-house validation and OEM vision inspection technologies, as well as commissioning and documentation services.
We act as a single partner for the entire line, significantly reducing operational risks in highly regulated environments. This provides our end users with peace of mind and the ability to focus on other business areas.
Our high-touch support streamlines the entire process by handling these tasks for our customers. This reduces startup time by providing comprehensive documentation in a fast, secure, and seamless startup.
8. In conclusion, what is the primary competitive advantage a manufacturer gains by choosing MGS packaging technologies?
The real advantage is transforming complexity into operational efficiency. Leveraging our deep expertise in the Life Science sector, we drastically reduce business risk by delivering flexible, compliant lines. Our customers gain the certainty of a reliable system, capable of evolving and adapting quickly to the production challenges of the future.