From Zero to Silver in Record Time - Infiana Wins Award for Operational Excellence

Malvern - “In the span of 11 months, Infiana was able to achieve something no other organization has managed nearly as quickly,“ notes Alexander Grombach of the University of Ansbach's Center of Excellence for TPM (CETPM). The specialty film manufacturer‘s Infiana Excellence Initiative (InEx) was honored by the Center with a Silver Award on the very first attempt.

“It is a tremendous compliment to our work and our performance in past months. It’s clearly noticeable that it isn’t just the key stakeholders who are motivated to push their areas forward. Instead, every single employee, from production workers up to top management, knows what continuous improvement processes (CIP) mean for them and what relevance they have in their daily business. This is why this award does not go to individuals, but is a significant achievement for every Infiana employee,“ says Simon Porn, Group Business & Quality Assurance Director at Infiana.

nEx: a holistic approach to improvement

The specialty films manufacturer launched its Infiana Excellence Initiative at the end of 2017 with the goal of creating a culture of continuous improvement. InEx is Infiana’s holistic approach to continuously improve processes, products, and services. It builds on a Total Productive Management (TPM) reference model as well as Toyota Kata leadership culture. An important aspect: “To successfully implement changes requires the support and participation of every employee and manager,“ adds Simon Porn.

Daily improvements for processes

To want to improve doesn't mean the current situation is bad. But external conditions can change. Energy, material, and personnel costs are continuously growing. What’s more, customer requirements and market conditions are also changing. In the long term, preserving the status quo is not enough to maintain – or, in the best case, increase – a company’s profitability. Organizations must therefore invest effort into the continuous improvement of their business processes.

CETPM honors extraordinary development

Just ten months passed from the first visit to the final CETPM audit. This rapid pace was only possible through the extraordinary engagement and motivation of Infiana’s employees. But Infiana has no intention of resting on its laurels. “Over the course of the audit as well as the follow-on discussions, we were shown further opportunities for optimization that would allow Infiana to continue developing and, by extension, qualify for the next award level, Gold,“ says Stefan Herfurth, COO Infiana. At the festive awards presentation ceremony, the awards committee praised in particular the persistence and consistency Infiana had shown in pursuing its Infiana Excellence Initiative. “Now, “said Prof. Constantin May of the University of Ansbach, “it has managed to create a genuine cultural change and integrate the topic of ‘continuous improvement‘ into day-to-day work. This in turn makes it possible to create ongoing improvements and establish a culture of collaboration and trust.“

Infiana joins top-tier companies

Since 2006, only seven businesses have been able to meet the exacting standards of the CETPM to receive a Gold or Silver Award. With its Silver CETPM Award, Infiana now stands shoulder to shoulder with businesses such as Daimler, Continental, and B. Braun.

About the CETPM

The CETPM, an institute of the University of Ansbach, is the leading provider of seminars, workshops, and events on the topic of Operational Excellence. The core of its mission is to prepare employees from companies and organizations to independently push forward operational improvements. Beyond this, it audits businesses on their Operational Excellence status.

About the Infiana Group:

The Infiana Group develops and produces innovative engineered films for consumer and industry applications. The Group employs about 950 employees at two production sites in Forchheim (Germany) and Malvern (USA). Infiana is active in the personal care (film products for hygiene packaging), healthcare (release and process films, films for packaging), construction (release and surface films), composites (release and process films) and pressure sensitive markets (siliconized release films). More information can be found online at www.infiana.com.

Corporate Communications:

Infiana Group GmbH

Peter Kuhmann

Zweibrückenstraße 15-25

91301 Forchheim

Germany

Tel: +49 9191 81-0

Fax: +49 9191 81-212

Mail: info@infiana.com