ATS lands $20M order for COVID-19 vaccine syringe manufacturing line

CAMBRIDGE, Ont. — A  medical device manufacturer has booked a $20 million order with ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc. for several automated safety syringe manufacturing systems that will feature.

The deal features the Cambridge, Ont. automation company’s patented Symphoni technology.

ATS said the order by an unidentified customer, to be completed over the next 10 months, will enable the production of safety syringes to meet potential demand related to COVID-19 vaccine production.

The program is related to the US government’s Operation Warp Speed that aligns production of safety needles and syringes in the US to meet anticipated demand as existing supplies are consumed in routine healthcare and to treat the surge of COVID-19 patients.

ATS describes Symphoni as high-performance digital manufacturing technology that multiplies the productivity of automated assembly processes by eliminating non-value-added production time. All movements are precisely mapped out and synchronized through a technique known as electronic gearing resulting in a “symphony of motion”. Consumables such as syringes are assembled at very high rates in a compact footprint while assuring compliance to the medical device industry’s rigid quality standards.

ATS employs approximately 4,400 people at 22 manufacturing facilities and over 50 offices in North America, Europe, Southeast Asia and China.