Speyer, November 27, 2025 – Bachem AG in Bubendorf (Switzerland) produces peptides for the diabesity market – products whose manufacture requires the highest level of process reliability and accuracy. In order to meet these requirements better and more efficiently, the plant has been upgraded to a new technical level: With the successful Site Acceptance Test (SAT) in October 2025, the full integration between the Siemens SIMATIC PCS 7 process control system (PCS) and the Körber PAS-X Manufacturing Execution System (MES) via InfoCarrier® BOXI has been completed.
With InfoCarrier® BOXI, SpiraTec AG has developed an innovative, modular solution that significantly reduces the integration effort between systems. Pre-built best practice workflows and standardized interfaces allow for efficient coverage of various use cases. InfoCarrier® BOXI simplifies interface communication between different systems and acts as a modular interface hub. The use of a workflow engine also allows customer-specific workflows to be implemented, enabling tailor-made solutions for every communication application.
“With InfoCarrier® BOXI, PLS and MES will communicate fully automatically and without manual intervention in the future,” says Nicole Anar, project manager and senior professional consultant for industrial IT solutions at SpiraTec AG in Wunstorf. A key advantage of InfoCarrier® BOXI is its connection to PLS and MES from a wide range of manufacturers through the use of universal connectors.
This end-to-end digital integration of process and production systems avoids media breaks. Dominik Hugenschmidt, MES Capability Lead at Bachem AG, explains: “In order to further optimize processes, minimize risks from manual intervention, and close the last gap in end-to-end integration, we decided to fully integrate MES and PCS 7. This will enable both systems to work together even more efficiently and seamlessly in the future.” Data flow from Siemens PLS to the Aveva PI System and then to Körber PAS-X MES was already possible, but communication between MES and PLS was not. The goal was to close this strategic integration gap.
The project included the implementation of InfoCarrier® BOXI at the customer’s site, including the creation of detailed system and interface documentation, as well as the performance of installation qualification (IQ) and site acceptance testing (SAT) for formal acceptance of the interface.
From challenge to success
The main challenges in the project were minimizing human errors at batch start and during recipe execution, synchronization between MES and PLS, and finding an out-of-the-box solution for standardized integration.
With the new InfoCarrier® BOXI interface, these goals were successfully achieved:
- Automated data exchange and fully synchronized recipes between MES and PLS
- Consistent and digitally controlled process flows
- Significant reduction in risks due to manual intervention and thus higher process reliability
The successful implementation lays the foundation for even more efficient and error-free production – a decisive step toward digitally networked and automated manufacturing and closing the last gap in end-to-end integration.
The project has been running since February 2025 and is scheduled for completion in December 2025. The short project duration of less than a year required the highest level of commitment and close cooperation from all parties involved. The successful result shows what can be achieved with dedication and partnership-based cooperation. Other systems at the site are also to be connected via InfoCarrier® BOXI in the future.
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