When Glaxosmithklein (GSK) had a problem with a production line they turned to Addington Engineers for help.
GSK needed to remove the hermetically sealed aluminium and plastic caps from bottles and phials, randomly selected from the production line, to comply with rigorous testing standards.
The existing method - a process of manually removing the caps - gave rise to potentially damaging claims of repetitive strain injury.
Addington's solution was a bespoke cap removing machine that removes one cap a minute.
Addington's managing director, Craig Vine, said: 'GSK needed to remove the caps as efficiently as possible without damaging the phials and accessing the contents for these important tests.
'What we came up with was a machine that was programmed to slice through caps, remove them in a clean but non-sterile environment.
'It is simple to operate - very little training is needed - and highly efficient.
'It can handle various different phials by gripping, twisting and slicing.
'All the operative has to do is insert a phial into the nest and close the guard to begin the cycle.
'With small design adjustments, the cap remover could be adapted to help others in the pharmaceutical industry who have hit similar problems.
'The testing process is vital so that the drugs are free from contaminants and are the correct volume,' he added.
