Italian stationery maker Carioca has digitalized its main production site in Settimo Torinese, near Turin, using Siemens SIMATIC S7-1200 controllers with their built-in OPC UA server. The PLCs now act as the communication hub between the shop floor and higher-level systems, giving the company a uniform data flow from presses, assembly lines and packaging machines.
The starting point: mixed machines, inconsistent data
Carioca, which grew out of Universal S.p.A., has produced colouring, writing and drawing materials for children for more than 50 years and exports over 70% of its output to more than 80 countries. To protect that position, the company needed continuous visibility of its production, but data from different machine types reached the upper levels in different ways and with technical limitations.
The goal was clear: one standard way of moving machine data upwards, flexible enough to cover every line in the plant.
The solution: S7-1200 as OPC UA server
Siemens and Carioca installed SIMATIC S7-1200 PLCs on presses and on assembly and packaging machines. Running the latest available firmware, each controller works as an OPC UA server, so higher-level applications read production data directly from the PLC without extra gateways.
An independent tool collects and monitors the machine data, which lets the team analyse the main causes of failures and apply targeted countermeasures.
Benefits reported
- Standardised interfaces: the same OPC UA server interface is used regardless of machine type.
- Simple, secure data access: complete and real-time monitoring of the production ecosystem.
- Faster troubleshooting: continuous data collection makes it easier to locate failure causes.
- Lighter PLC programs: shorter development time and lower memory use inside the S7-1200.
General Manager Giorgio Bertolo sums up the motivation: “We must maintain manufacturing excellence in a category that we invented in Europe.”
Why it matters for PLC programmers and integrators
Many plants run a mix of machines from different builders, each exposing data in its own way. Using the OPC UA server already available in a compact controller such as the S7-1200 is a practical route to a common information model without replacing the existing equipment or adding a separate communication layer.
For programmers, the key gain is reuse: once the server interface is defined, it can be rolled out machine by machine with the same structure, which shortens commissioning and keeps the PLC program focused on control. Before planning a similar project, check the OPC UA runtime licence required for the S7-1200 and the firmware version of each CPU.
The full case study is available on the Siemens customer success story page. For more on the compact controller, see how the LOGO! 9 connects to a SIMATIC S7-1200 G2, or browse our Siemens news section.