Automation + Integration = Medicos Agility

For Medicos, the answer isn't just about adding more machines—it's about rethinking how those machines are built, integrated, and operated. With nearly €40 million in annual revenue and four production sites spanning France and Italy, the company is making a decisive bet on automation and vertical integration to future-proof its business in an increasingly unforgiving global market.

A million euros here, a million there

The group's latest move: a fully automated, high-speed lacquering line at its Izernore facility in France, representing an investment of close to €1 million. Dedicated to the beauty and premium packaging sectors, this next-generation line produces up to 4,000 parts per hour while delivering superior finish quality. But speed isn't the whole story. The system integrates automated dust removal and brushing before lacquering—reducing aesthetic defects and dramatically lowering scrap rates. It's also designed to work with high-solids, low-VOC technical lacquers, cutting material consumption in the process.

Meanwhile, the Chassal-Molinges site in France's Jura region—dedicated to cosmetic droppers—has undergone an additional €1 million expansion, entirely self-financed. The site now runs 31 plastic injection molding machines, an automated assembly workshop, and two cleanrooms equipped with camera-based inspection and AI-driven sensor technologies for real-time quality monitoring. In an industry where even the slightest cosmetic flaw can render a product unsellable, that level of precision isn't optional—it's existential.

Building the machines that build the products

Here's where Medicos truly sets itself apart. The company doesn't just buy off-the-shelf equipment and hope it works—it designs and manufactures a significant portion of its own production machinery in-house. At the Chassal site, a dedicated workshop develops custom machines tailored to specific production constraints or customer requirements. The team also produces tooling in-house, supported by a fleet of around ten 3D printers used for rapid prototyping, product modeling, and fabricating machine components.

Why does that matter? Because when you control the equipment design, you control the agility. Medicos can rapidly adapt its production lines to shifting demands, continuously improve performance, and respond to customer needs faster than competitors who are tethered to external suppliers.

From plastic to glass—and everything in between

While plastic injection molding remains its core business—supported by 92 presses—Medicos also operates a drawn glass production facility in Italy. That site features eight vertical rotary machines with automated feeding and integrated camera-based inspection, plus extensive in-line assembly, decoration, and finishing capabilities: lacquering, screen printing, pad printing, hot stamping, laser marking—you name it. This diversified portfolio—jars, droppers, roll-ons, perfume caps, closures for tubes and flexible bottles—positions the group as a one-stop shop for premium packaging.

Sustainability isn't an afterthought

Alongside its production investments, Medicos is advancing work on recyclable materials and lightweighting. The company is expanding beyond engineering polymers into recycled, bio-based, and alternative petroleum-based plastics, with developments underway using rPET for thick-walled applications. It's also exploring PHA—a biodegradable biopolymer that doesn't generate persistent microplastics—alongside plant-fiber materials like hemp and various bio-sourced and recycled resins.

For Cédric Marmonnier, President and Founder of Medicos, automation isn't merely an optimization tool—it's a fundamental condition for industrial sustainability. By simultaneously investing in automation, custom machine design, and cutting-edge control technologies, Medicos is making one thing clear: operational excellence isn't just a goal—it's the competitive advantage that will carry the company into the next decade.