E&O Laboratories, a leading UK-based manufacturer of culture media, has increased annual production from 30 million units in 2023 to 40 million units in 2025, supported by the deployment of FourJaw Manufacturing Analytics across its production operations.
Operating across two cGMP manufacturing sites in Scotland, E&O supplies clinical, pharmaceutical, food, environmental and industrial sectors worldwide. With around 100 employees, the company operates fully automated continuous-process filling lines supported by cleanrooms, sterilisation facilities and integrated logistics.
As production volumes and new contract demand increased, E&O wanted to understand how much additional capacity could be unlocked within its existing production hours before considering a move to 24/7 operations.
Despite operating advanced manufacturing processes, the company lacked reliable visibility of production performance. Data was either inaccurate or unavailable, making it difficult to understand true capacity, identify inefficiencies or pinpoint where productive time was being lost.
After exploring alternative approaches, including stack light systems, E&O deployed FourJaw’s production monitoring technology across its plate and bottle lines.
FourJaw provides real-time machine state monitoring, automatic tracking of stoppage duration, structured downtime categorisation, tablet-based operator input and historical performance analysis. This has created a single source of operational data that is now used across production, engineering, maintenance and senior leadership.
Since implementing FourJaw, E&O has increased utilisation on selected production lines from the mid-30% range to more than 50%.
Production teams have used downtime data to reduce lost time during product changeovers, improve shift-start performance and create greater consistency between shifts. Engineering and maintenance teams have also used the data to identify the largest causes of downtime, prioritise interventions and eliminate major recurring breakdown losses.
FourJaw data is now incorporated into regular operational reviews, giving operators, engineers, production teams and senior management a shared view of factory performance.
An E&O Laboratories spokesperson said: “What started as a way to monitor machine uptime is now built into the fabric of the factory, from operator tablets and live screens on the lines, through to weekly team-leader reviews and director-level management meetings”.
The increased visibility has helped E&O unlock additional capacity within its existing operating hours and successfully deliver new contract demand on time, while strengthening confidence in its ability to continue increasing production.
Over two years, annual output has grown from around 30 million to 40 million units.
E&O said: “Over two years, E&O has grown annual output from around 30 million to 40 million units using FourJaw data in daily meetings and quarterly director reviews to keep everyone aligned on where to find the next gains.”
Chris Iveson, CEO at FourJaw Manufacturing Analytics, said: “E&O Laboratories is a strong example of how better production visibility can support growth without immediately adding more machines or operating hours.
“By giving production, engineering and leadership teams a shared and accurate view of downtime and performance, E&O has been able to identify where capacity was being lost, target the right improvements and build greater confidence in its ability to meet increasing demand.”