Modular Production Helps Process Manufacturers Improve Agility

Process manufacturers are under growing pressure to respond quickly to changing product requirements, shorter production runs, and evolving market demand. However, conventional automation architectures are often designed around fixed production configurations, making it difficult and time-consuming to add new equipment, rearrange production processes, or introduce new product variants.

At the ARC Forum in Tokyo, Naoki Miyazaki, technical sales manager at COPA-DATA Japan K.K., presented an implementation at Ajinomoto Omnichem that demonstrated how modular production and the Module Type Package (MTP) standard can help address these challenges.

Moving Beyond Fixed Production Architectures

In industries such as chemicals, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, and cosmetics, production systems typically include equipment and automation technologies from multiple suppliers. Integrating these systems can require substantial engineering effort, particularly when each module uses different interfaces, data structures, and control configurations.

MTP provides a standardized, vendor-independent description of the functions, services, communication interfaces, and visualization elements of a process equipment module. The concept was developed through German process industry initiatives involving organizations such as NAMUR, ZVEI, and VDI/VDE.

By providing a consistent description of each module, MTP allows equipment to be integrated into a higher-level automation environment with less custom engineering. This supports the “Plug & Produce” approach, in which production modules can be added, removed, or rearranged without redesigning the entire automation system.

Ajinomoto Omnichem Adopts Modular Continuous Processing

Ajinomoto Omnichem, a Belgium-based manufacturer of pharmaceutical ingredients and specialty chemicals, implemented a modular continuous flow plant to improve production flexibility and accelerate the deployment of new manufacturing processes.

The facility incorporated multiple equipment modules that could be combined into different equipment trains depending on production requirements. Rather than managing each module through a separate automation environment, the company used COPA-DATA’s zenon software as the Process Orchestration Layer.

The orchestration layer coordinates the services provided by individual equipment modules and allows operators to configure production sequences at the plant level. This separates module-level control from process-level orchestration, enabling equipment to retain its own automation functions while participating in a broader production workflow.

The architecture also allowed Ajinomoto Omnichem to incorporate existing equipment into the modular production environment. This reduced the need to replace installed assets and supported a more gradual transition toward modular operations.

Simplifying Commissioning and Production Changes

One of the primary advantages of the MTP-based approach was the ability to commission equipment trains more rapidly. Because information about each module was provided through a standardized MTP description, the orchestration system could recognize and integrate module functions without requiring extensive custom configuration.

Operators could then select and sequence the required module services through the orchestration layer. This made it easier to reconfigure production processes, introduce new equipment combinations, and adapt the plant to changing product requirements.

The implementation also provided a common operating environment for the modular plant. Centralized orchestration helped operators manage production sequences while the individual modules continued to execute their local control functions.

This separation between equipment control and plant-level orchestration is particularly important in modular production. It allows modules from different suppliers to operate together while reducing dependencies on a single automation architecture.

Supporting More Flexible Process Manufacturing

Modular production is gaining attention as process manufacturers seek greater flexibility without sacrificing operational reliability or production scale. MTP can support this transition by standardizing the way equipment modules describe their capabilities and communicate with orchestration systems.

The Ajinomoto Omnichem implementation shows how this approach can move beyond pilot environments and support continuous production applications. It also demonstrates that modularization does not necessarily require manufacturers to replace all existing equipment. Instead, MTP-enabled orchestration can provide a framework for integrating new and installed assets within a more flexible production architecture.

Although broader adoption will depend on continued standardization and support across automation and equipment suppliers, modular production offers manufacturers a practical path toward faster commissioning, easier process reconfiguration, and more adaptable operations.