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Sanofi Automates End-of-Line Packaging for 1 Billion Vaccine Doses

Case Study

9/12/2024

Robotic palletizer stacking boxes on a pallet_crop

Industry

Medical

Application

Palletizing

Robot Solution

OMRON TM12 Cobot

Automating heavy box handling for safer, more efficient vaccine production

At Sanofi’s Marcy-l’Étoile site, operators were manually stacking 9 kg boxes at the end of the packaging line. This repetitive lifting created an ergonomic challenge, limited throughput, and placed physical strain on employees. With the facility shipping one billion vaccine doses each year to 150 countries, Sanofi needed a way to improve end-of-line handling while supporting operator safety.

To address the challenge, Sanofi partnered with OMRON to install collaborative robotic palletizers. The TM12 robot was selected for its payload capacity and compact design, allowing the system to be integrated into existing packaging lines with minimal disruption. Each robotic palletizer now handles 150,000 kg of product per month, reducing manual workload and allowing operators to focus on higher-value tasks.

Safety was a key part of the implementation. The system was designed to operate alongside staff while helping reduce repetitive lifting and improve day-to-day ergonomics. With OMRON support, Sanofi implemented a reliable robotic palletizing approach that can be adapted across similar production environments.

Watch Sanofi’s story:

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Results at a glance:

150,000 kg of product palletized per month
30% reduction in manual workload for operators
Integration into existing packaging lines
Improved workplace safety and ergonomics
Operators redeployed to higher-value production tasks
Adaptable approach for vaccine packaging operations

Safer end-of-line automation for vaccine production

Sanofi’s use of OMRON robotic palletizers shows how automation can help pharmaceutical manufacturers reduce repetitive manual handling, improve ergonomics, and maintain reliable production flow at the end of the packaging line.

If your team is evaluating ways to reduce manual palletizing or improve operator safety, we can help explore an approach that fits your facility, packaging process, and production requirements.