Tradition, fun, enjoyable moments, cutting-edge information, and plenty of technology characterized this year’s INOSIM User Day, which took place on May 22, 2025, in Dortmund, Germany. More than forty participants from Germany and abroad followed our invitation to the Technology Park near the Technical University of Dortmund. They experienced a varied, informative program and the usual direct exchange between customers and INOSIM’s developers and consultants. And a lot had happened since the last INOSIM User Day 2023: ZETA’s entry into INOSIM, the reorganization of the company structure, the release of INOSIM 14, the upcoming release of INOSIM 2025.1, as well as a lot of success stories from the simulation, of which our customers reported in lively presentations…
Evening before: Time Travel at Zeche Zollern
The gathering the evening before already offered the participants a lot. At the historic Zollern mine, now a museum, there was a lot to learn about working conditions in the early 20th century. A century of gas explosions, coal dust, noise, and hard physical labor. Everyone quickly agreed: Better to be a Simulant today than a Malocher (hard worker) yesterday.
The mine tour also took us high up to the old shaft tower, where we had a panoramic view of the surprisingly green Ruhr area, instead of “going underground” as they used to. Finally, the evening was concluded with a delicious “miner’s buffet” in the former stables of the mine, now a restaurant, and mutual introduction in a convivial gathering.
User Day: Humorous Opening
In the morning of User Day, participants were greeted with a wink: At each seat in the conference room, along with other practical gifts, was the new INOSIM cup with the inscription Simulant. A “professional pride” of a different kind that was well received!
Another novelty was that this year’s User Day was held entirely in English, as participants from the US, India, and Denmark were also present.
Welcome and Keynote: Smart Plants Run on Data
INOSIM’s Managing Director Peter Balling first welcomed the plenum, after which Josef Maier, one of the heads of the ZETA Group, introduced the new INOSIM parent company ZETA. A keynote by Dr. Christian Sonntag (Sigma Process & Automation GmbH), a sister company of INOSIM within the ZETA Group, set the framework for the first presentation block: Smart Plants Run On Data.
Biotest: Foresight ready – automation-based engineering model
While Christian Sonntag emphasized the importance of IT and data as drivers for optimized production processes under the title From Chaos To Clarity, Andreas Fischer (Biotest AG) then presented a specific use case for that: For the future use of INOSIM Foresight, Biotest is currently creating an automation-based engineering model in the area of plasma-based medications. The goal is a drastic increase in production capacities using INOSIM Tools.
Customer presentation: Smart Facility Design
The second topic block was opened by Hans Eder (ZETA) with a presentation on the optimized design of clean rooms using INOSIM Software for Process Simulation:
ZETA: Process-based Energy Optimization Of Cleanrooms
The approach uses simulation to know the actual heat and particle input into the room in a pharmaceutical production facility and to design HVAC systems accordingly, instead of operating an inefficient and expensive (Capex and Opex) system. This will make energy savings of approximately 50-70% possible. The idea was well received by the participants because an engineering model created before can be used again, and the additional time required to use the model in the INOSIM simulation is only a few hours.
Octapharma: Process Simulation User Story
Dennis Meister (Octapharma GmbH) entertained the participants with an informative account of his professional experience. It was about the benefits of switching from other simulation tools to INOSIM. The presentation showed the evolution of the use of simulation tools in the company, starting with a simple Excel sheet, through SchedulePro, and ending with detailed simulation with INOSIM. Process simulation replaced earlier “soft” decision makers such as emotions, opinions, discussions, and false expectations, and provided reliable parameters for engineering. And in the humorous memes from Dennis Meister’s presentation, many participants recognized their own “Love Story” with INOSIM!
News from INOSIM Software Development
After the lunch break, INOSIM’s Head Of Software Development, Dr. Michael Günther, presented the new INOSIM update strategy:
INOSIM Insight: From now on, a full version per year
Starting in 2025, INOSIM will deliver a new full version of our core product each year, divided into 2 releases per year, to match shorter support cycles with component suppliers like Microsoft. A brief introduction of the new features in INOSIM 2025.1 followed. Then, additional ideas for 2025.2 were presented, as well as a brief outlook on long–term work such as the new plant layout. The subsequent discussion with the participants focused on practical questions: Would a type of co–pilot for the VBA editor be conceivable? What does integration into a company’s AI look like? What problems need to be considered here?
INOSIM Innovation: Foresight Development
INOSIM’s Head of Innovation, Dominik Bleidorn, presented current innovation topics afterwards. This involved questions of stability and maturity, improved data access, built-in user documentation, the new Foresight web interface, ideas for new extensions (e.g., recipe import from data via table, XML, or similar), questions of AI (INOSIM Chat GBT Assistant), and much more. Customer requests (e.g., renaming Units per Extension, creating Units per Extension) were also addressed here.
Customer presentations: Planning Robust Facilities
Philipp Michel (Chemgineering AG), a long-standing and experienced INOSIM user, opened the next presentation block with his lecture.
Chemgineering: Comparison of filling concepts: One Pot vs. Mix & Buffer
He presented a project in which various production plans and equipment configurations are analyzed in terms of production capacity. A total of 53 scenarios were simulated (variation of production plan, equipment configuration, and shift plan) and it was shown that the One-Pot concept does not offer an advantage over Mix & Buffer and that the proven operational process (and the approval) does not need to be changed.
Artistratis: Being Certain under Uncertainty – How Simulation, AI und Calculation Power can help!
Nils Oldenburg (Artistratis) motivated the audience to consider uncertainties in the production process, as these are becoming increasingly relevant. He illustrated this with a case study (planning two production lines with different volumes. Simulation goals: less inventory or diversification, raw materials, personnel). In this example, INOSIM Statistical Analyzer and INOSIM Optimizer with stochastic optimization were used: 50 runs per generation x 10 samples x 200 generations resulted in many simulation runs, which could be realized in about 24 hours on a normal laptop. However, this effort was worth it. The following rules could be derived: form campaigns to minimize cleaning times; balance the utilization of production lines by varying batch sizes; modify the sequence to ensure sufficient buffer times in case of delays.
Sigma: Combination of batch processes and discrete manufacturing in Fill & Finish processes
Danylo Spitsyn (Sigma Process & Automation GmbH) presented a fill and finish simulation project aimed at determining whether the target capacity of blood plasma product production could be achieved with an initial design. The model follows the process through multiple changes, from batch production to discrete storage and manufacturing and back. INOSIM Software with the Packaged Goods Add-on was used, so that the logistics processes could also be mapped in a recipe-based manner using modules. The model is modular, so new products can be easily assembled using a matrix. The analysis focused on pallet storage spaces over time (simulation period: 1 year) and equipment utilization. The analysis of the parking spaces shows that they were only barely sufficient in some areas (94 out of 96 occupied during peak hours). In the future, the model should be expanded to include the detailed upstream batch production process as well as the downstream process.
Conclusion and final Get-Together
After so much concentrated information, the final get-together provided another opportunity for informal exchange. Following the tradition of the Ruhr area, we served local beer (in addition to champagne). Equipped with many good ideas and suggestions, participants and employees then headed home. The INOSIM team is already looking forward to the next User Day, which is expected to take place again in Dortmund in 2026. We will inform you about the date in due time here and in our newsletter!
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