Annual Report 2011 (5.07 MB, PDF-File) - Oerlikon

Dr. Hans Brändle, CEO Oerlikon Coating
In his work, Schmid draws on the broad experience he has
accumulated during his 30-year career. This explains the high
level of respect he has within the company and leads to the
perception the audits are “hard, but fair,” as they are consistently
described. Schmid and his team have introduced 9 000
individual measures to improve the profitability of the coating
centers. Key aspects include coating-unit maintenance, safety
and adherence to work procedures. Localized documentation
helps the centers carry out these activities. Process control
charts – that is, instructions that describe all work procedures
– are available in 28 different languages. Schmid and his team
follow the principle of “learn locally, implement globally” in this
area as well – making successful standardization possible in
the first place.
Oerlikon Coating operates coating centers in 32 countries. As
a result, Schmid and his team are constantly on the go. But
their efforts are paying off. At the end of 2011, profitability had
once again improved: “Benchmarking, audits and best prac-
tices are now permanent fixtures of our corporate culture,”
Schmid says. “Our employees benefit from the global exchange
and we keep improving from year to year as a result
– continuously and sustainably.”