Author: Renee Lee

Overview

For years, a large pulp operation struggled with process instability that forced operators into constant manual intervention. Two unreliable digesters became a major bottleneck, limiting production despite strong demand. Instrument drift, inconsistent valve performance, and ineffective control loops eroded trust in automation—turning what should have been a controlled process into ongoing firefighting.

By restoring foundational reliability—repairing and upgrading instrumentation, improving valve performance, and retuning loops with Entech Toolkit Software in combination with Emerson technologies—the operation rebuilt stable, predictable control. Variability dropped, manual intervention declined, and operators regained confidence in automated systems. This transformation led to more stable digester performance, reduced Kappa variability, improved efficiency, and ultimately eliminated the bottleneck—unlocking capacity and delivering an 8% increase in overall value and $34M in estimated annual savings.

Discover the Details

Read the full story to see how restoring automation fundamentals can unlock hidden capacity and deliver measurable financial impact.

Featured Solution

Production Optimization

To better serve you, Apperture Solutions is implementing a new company-wide data system designed to improve efficiency, accuracy, and responsiveness across our operations.

To complete this transition, our offices will be closed July 1–3, with normal operations resuming on July 6. We appreciate your understanding as we complete this upgrade to strengthen our operations and support.

While our offices will be closed during this time, our commitment to supporting you does not change—we are fully prepared and staying actively engaged throughout the transition.

• Our team will remain available to support urgent and emergency needs, with resources in place to respond quickly and keep your operations moving.
• Dedicated on-call personnel will be monitoring and ready to assist, ensuring timely communication and rapid response should anything arise.
• We are closely coordinating internally during this window to ensure continuity and minimize any disruption to your business.
• If you have any urgent needs or upcoming concerns, our team is here to help—please reach out now so we can ensure everything is handled seamlessly. For non-emergency orders, we recommend waiting until July 6 when our systems are fully back online, as standard processing will be limited during the outage. 

If you experience an urgent issue during this time, please contact us at 919.566.1104 and you will be helped by our on-call support.

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Case Study: Chemical manufacturer restores reliability with a modernized process control network

This case study highlights how a regional production facility rebuilt its fragile process control network using Fortinet technology, achieving zero downtime during migration, restoring full engineer visibility, and maintaining 100% network uptime after deployment. 

A large manufacturing site faced mounting risks from an outdated process control network that was difficult to access, poorly documented, and prone to failures. When a single switch outage halted data flow to a global monitoring center, operations stalled and on‑site engineers were unable to diagnose the issue—highlighting the urgent need for a modern, resilient architecture.

Using Fortinet hardware, the plant implemented a redesigned ring‑topology network supported by high‑availability FortiGate firewalls. The upgrade delivered zero downtime during migration, 100% uptime post‑deployment, improved data integrity, stronger security, and a cost‑effective installation completed under budget.

Read the full story to see how this upgrade strengthened visibility, boosted resilience, and provided a scalable platform for future technologies.

Case Study: Leading Life Sciences company slashes timelines with One-Click Automation 

This case study highlights how a global biopharma company automated GMP software change validation, cutting project timelines in half and improving compliance. 

Overview 

Under increasing pressure to improve the efficiency of GMP software change validation, the automation team at a leading global biopharmaceutical company partnered with Apperture Solutions to transform their specification and validation workflows.  Initially deployed for control system elements, a solution based on Informetric’s AgileDoc System Lifecycle Management (SLC) has since been extended to cover manufacturing execution.  

Prior to AgileDoc manual updates to design specifications and test plans took weeks and were susceptible to human error. With AgileDoc, the team established repeatable, validated procedures to generate redlines, update specifications, create test plans, and route them for approval—all in less than half the time for large projects, with even greater savings for routine changes. 

“We use it for everything, all the time, always… Our ability to decrease project execution time has been more than worth the effort of implementation.”  – Senior automation engineer 

Discover the Details

See how a global biopharma leader cut validation timelines in half and accelerated production with AgileDoc. 

Key Benefits of AgileDoc Automation 

By automating change validation, the company achieved: 

• Design Change Efficiency: Redlines, test templates, and scope of testing generated in minutes. 

• Automation Engineering: Reduced manual effort across dozens of phases and modules. 

• Faster Production Timelines: Large projects completed in days instead of weeks. 

• GMP Compliance: Structured, validated processes ensure traceability and quality.