2
Main production sites (France and Canada)
Reducing Production Costs While Scaling for Growth
A French pharmaceutical company specializing in dental anesthetics, needed to reduce unit costs while preparing for major capital investment. EFESO is working alongside the in-house team to implement phased improvements across production and maintenance operations in France and Canada. This transformation addresses capacity constraints that currently result in thousands of missing boxes annually.
Industry: Life Sciences
Service: Cost and Value Engineering
Service: Manufacturing
Our Client
An international pharmaceutical company. It specializes in producing cartridges of anesthetics for dental surgery. The company operates two main production sites, located in France and Canada.
It has planned substantial capital expenditure to support future growth and improve operational efficiency, with new production and packaging lines scheduled for launch by the end of 2026.
16%
Current material losses
The Challenge
The company was under increasing pressure to improve margins and generate funds for future investments, despite holding a strong market position. The operation faced multiple challenges:
- Production capacity constraints: Fully booked production lines suffered from frequent breakdowns and inadequate preventive maintenance, leading to thousands of missing boxes per year and representing a lost margin opportunity of €10-15 million annually
- Material efficiency issues: Material losses could be as high as 16%, leading to substantial unnecessary costs and undermining the profitability targets required to fund planned capital expenditures
- Organizational readiness gaps: With new production and packaging lines scheduled for the end of 2026, the company needed to right-size staffing levels and prepare its operations for increased production alongside fewer resources by 2027/28
Real Results Achieved Together
Working alongside the client’s teams in France and Canada, we are delivering significant cost reductions through targeted operational improvements.
This phased implementation aligns with the company’s capital investment timeline, ensuring both immediate savings and long-term operational readiness.
30-40%
Savings achieved
€10-15M
Annual margin opportunity captured
2026-2028
New line deployment timeline
Transformation Impact
- Rightsized staffing levels to match actual production requirements
- Reduced dependency on expensive outsourced maintenance contracts
- Prepared organization for increased production capacity with optimized resources
Our Approach
Our engagement began with comprehensive assessments of production and maintenance operations at both French sites. The Canadian assessment began with labs, with production and maintenance evaluations taking place over the following three months.
This phased strategy delivered short-term improvements, as well as aligning with CapEx installations ahead of new lines launching at the end of 2026. This ensures organizational and operational readiness for the expansion.
The approach addresses oversized staffing and excessive outsourced maintenance contracts while tackling material efficiency challenges. By focusing online capacity improvements through better preventive maintenance and quality management, we are also helping the company to capture significant margin opportunities while preparing for sustainable growth.
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Facing Similar Manufacturing Efficiency Challenges?
- Struggling with material losses and capacity constraints that erode your margins
- Planning major capital investments but unsure if your operations are ready
- Let’s explore how operational excellence can fund your growth ambitions
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