ETRIA Cuts Toner Process Variability Threefold with OIAnalytics

At its Dieppe site in France, ETRIA (formerly Toshiba TEIS) produces toner for copiers sold across Europe and Asia. By connecting its equipment and analyzing production data with OIAnalytics, the plant cut process variability almost threefold. In 2021 it also raised productivity by nearly 6% and cut energy use by up to 7%.

ETRIA in Dieppe, a key site in global toner production

The ETRIA site produces all four toner colors: black, yellow, cyan and magenta.

The site runs three activities. Toner production accounts for 60% of revenue. The site also handles copier logistics and assembly, and provides assembly support for start-ups.

End customers are mostly large companies running sizeable copier fleets.

The challenge: turning data into a driver of productivity and quality

In 2017, site management set a clear goal: use the digital industrial revolution to improve every production process. For toner, that meant collecting process data, analyzing it and making it available to staff.

“The idea was to collect data from our processes, analyze it, make it available to our people, and then improve our productivity and our quality.” (translated from French) — Mohamed Mebtoul, Head of Toner Department, ETRIA (Dieppe)

The roadmap followed three steps:

1. Collect data from the machines, the ERP and the quality database.
2. Share data with every employee at their level, the site's “digital evolution”: screens and simple data displays.
3. Analyze: with a large volume of data collected, the site needed a tool able to show it as trends and analyze it.

After comparing several software options, ETRIA selected OIAnalytics by Optimistik.

How OIAnalytics and Optimistik helped ETRIA take control of production

An end-to-end partnership

Optimistik worked with the site from the first data collection, through the “digital evolution” and on to full digital transformation.

“They adapted to our needs and we adapted to their tool. It was a win-win on both sides.” (translated from French) — Mohamed Mebtoul, Head of Toner Department

Particle size: a flagship use case

Toner particle size is a critical quality parameter. It used to vary at 8 microns, plus or minus 0.5 micron. Thanks to OIAnalytics' advanced analytics (influence analysis) and statistical process control (SPC, control charts) features, it is now controlled within a tolerance of plus or minus 0.1 micron.

“We managed to control our process by cutting the standard deviation by almost three. That let us run close to the upper particle-size limits and also reduce our energy consumption.” (translated from French) — Mohamed Mebtoul, Head of Toner Department, ETRIA (Dieppe)

The right data for every role

Each role gets the data it needs. Engineers track machine data and technicians track motor data. Operators use dashboards that show in real time whether production is ahead of or behind schedule. They can pace their work while keeping quality and productivity on target.

Measurable gains in 2021

• Productivity: up nearly 6%.
• Material yield: up more than 1%.
• Energy: 2% savings in Q1, nearly 7% in Q4.

“Despite rising energy prices, we gained 2% in the first quarter and nearly 7% in the last quarter, which allowed us to absorb the energy price increases.” (translated from French) — Mohamed Mebtoul

Beyond the figures, the project brought together automation engineers, IT, operators and supervisors around a shared goal.

“This project brought all our people together. That was very important, and it really united the team.” (translated from French) — Mohamed Mebtoul

Conclusion

In Dieppe, ETRIA turned data into an everyday control tool, from machines to operators. The result: a more stable process, higher productivity and better control of energy costs.