Sense of Change: Success Story Staufen AG

SENSE
OF
CHANGE

Sense
of change.
2 STAUFEN. | FEIG

Many companies only think about reinventing
themselves in times of need. But not FEIG
ELECTRONIC GmbH. The market and innovation
leader for controller and sensor technology
as well as identification and payment systems
exercises its versatility from a position of
strength – and has been for many years.
COMPANY
PORTRAIT
In Weilburg located in central Hesse, a city with a population of
approximately 13,000, high-quality electronics are developed and
produced that are used around the world. FEIG ELECTRONIC has
specialized in products for intelligent gate and barrier control.
The company also uses its expertise in controller and sensor technology
as a supplier of light signal systems and other traffic signs.
In addition, the Weilburg-based company is highly successful
with its RFID applications and electronic payment solutions.
The customer segment is broad and ranges from trade,
logistics, medical technology and public administration to event
management. The specialist for contactless identification, control
electronics and traffic sensors employs around 300 experts and
trainees. The internationally focused company has a close network
of distribution partners and a subsidiary in the USA.
STAUFEN. | FEIG 3

Entrepreneurial spirit
instead of batch and queuing
INITIAL
SITUATION
FEIG set off on the path to lean transformation in 2010. Company
founder Wolfgang Feig became aware of a successful project
from the lean experts at Staufen AG. The company, which was
started by the graduate engineer in the early 1970s out of his
garage, was in the best economic shape even then, but in order
to leverage further potential, FEIG made sure not to pass up this
opportunity.
"Successful entrepreneurial behavior is based on the willingness
and ability to change. This attitude – paired with a great sense
of community – makes up the core of our company philosophy,"
emphasizes current Managing Director Eldor Walk, who continues
along this path he once pursued together with Wolfgang Feig.
At that time, the company still focused on the batch and queuing
principle for workshop production. Each workstation worked with
batch sizes resulting in high wastage rates, high circulating stocks
and long throughput times. Earmarked communication was missing,
especially at the interfaces to other company divisions or customers.
FEIG was far from excellent manufacturing according to
lean principles.
4 STAUFEN. | FEIG

»
"Successful entrepreneurial
behavior is based on the
willingness and ability to change."
Eldor Walk, Managing Director«
Managing Directors: Eldor Walk and Christian Norwig
STAUFEN. | FEIG 5

Consistent implementation
of the value-stream concept
APPROACH
To first determine whether and how FEIG could benefit from lean
transformation, a potential analysis was carried out. Together
with lean specialists from Staufen AG, the medium-sized company
assessed its production processes: throughput times, space
utilization, inventories and process times – everything was put to
the test. FEIG initially concentrated on the production of an electronic
gate control system. "The aim of a lighthouse project of this
kind is to familiarize employees and managers – including those
from other areas of the company – with the meaning and benefits
of lean management," states Production Manager Rudolf
Dörr on this approach and adds, "Lighthouse projects effectively
and quickly make the meaning and benefits of lean management
clear to everyone involved." At the time, he was new to the company
but had some lean experience from previous positions that
helped him move the topic forward.
6 STAUFEN. | FEIG

A decisive step in this lighthouse project was integrating module
inspection and various pre and final assembly steps to form a
clocked, high-performance production island in a one-piece flow.
Team Leader THT (Production)
Alexander Heinz (2nd from
right) and Rudolf Dörr, Head
of Production and Materials
Management (3rd from right)
during a Go & See with
employees
Until then, the automatic and manual assembly of the electronic
modules was still outsourced to various service providers,
which resulted in long delays, high control effort and also
forgoing value-added potential. FEIG therefore decided
to cap these interfaces and dependencies in the value
stream and to develop the necessary technologies in-house.
For this purpose, the company invested in corresponding production
facilities and, within two years, managed to manufacture
the entire outsourced volume itself and also integrate
further processes into production islands in a targeted manner
and without affecting existing customers. By permanently
reducing waste in processes, production gained the resources
needed to support growth and increase vertical integration.
In detail: The throughput time was reduced by an average
of 50 percent across all work systems, and the inventories
in circulation by more than 70 percent. In addition, around
30 percent was saved in space and distances.
The success of this project impressed all those involved at FEIG.
Gradually, all production processes were examined and aligned
according to lean criteria.
STAUFEN. | FEIG 7

Lean Sales – Team performance
instead of solo success
Spurred on by success in production and driven forward by internally
trained lean experts, FEIG then focused on other areas.
Sales Director Franz-Josef Kaiser was initially still skeptical when it
was finally his department‘s turn. No wonder: Sales rose by up to
12 percent annually – a remarkable achievement that he in no
way wanted to jeopardize.
But this success came at the price of a considerable workload.
Almost every process in the area first landed on the sales director‘s
desk – without him practically nothing got off the ground.
Certainly a risky system, because if such a key person is absent
once, even temporarily, the wheels stop turning. Moreover, the
long-standing sales director was set to retire. And the sales professional
was determined to ensure an smooth transition for his
successor. So, he decided to put lean to the test.
And with complete success, because within a short time
Franz-Josef Kaiser became a true advocate for the lean philosophy:
"I am convinced that companies can only survive in
the future if they work according to lean principles. We now
have a completely different culture in sales and are an even
stronger team than before." Visualization and efficient regular
communication make up the core of the new system. Using
Shop Floor Management boards, he and each of his employees
can see the status of various sales projects and key
figures at a glance. This alone saves the sales manager almost
an entire workday a week, which would otherwise be spent in
endless one-on-one meetings. Short-cycle regular communication
takes place once a week, a quick meeting within the sales
department. Exchange with other departments takes place once
a month.
Employees have also experienced a significant change. Administrative
burdens in sales managers‘ activity profiles have been
significantly reduced. They can concentrate on their core tasks
– namely supporting dynamic growth through systematic initiatives
and continuously improving processes with cross-area CIP.
8 STAUFEN. | FEIG

»
«
"I am convinced that companies can only survive in the
future if they work according to lean principles."
Franz-Josef Kaiser, Sales Director
Franz-Josef Kaiser,
Sales Director (2nd from left)
and Sales Office Manager
Christiane Grundmann
rely on short-cycle regular
communication in sales.
STAUFEN. | FEIG 9

Lean, fit and successful
For FEIG, lean transformation is a real success story. Annual
turnover has increased from about €30 million to more than
€50 million within a short decade.
RESULTS
Shop floor manufacturing in production has given way to a
waste-free one-piece flow without even a single employee having
to fear for their job. The company has acted wisely: FEIG used
freed resources for insourcing measures, allowing the company
to achieve almost 100 percent vertical integration. In sales,
the electronics specialist, which previously worked nearly without
any defined processes, was able to achieve a new strategic
quality. Leads are now generated, tracked and developed in a
process-oriented manner. Decision-makers spend less time dealing
with day-to-day business and are able to devote themselves
to their actual, higher-level tasks. The sales team has more time
to sell instead of getting lost in administrative processes.
Purchasing Manager Yvonne
Oesterling and her team look
forward to savings through new
measures such as the Idea Box.
FEIG has taken the path to become a Lean Enterprise at a remarkable
pace. The purchasing department is also transforming in this
direction and has achieved savings of almost €2 million within
1.5 years through measures such as cross-divisional product
group management. Today, the Weilburg company is one of
Staufen AG‘s BestPractice partners – in less than ten years they
have gone from Lean Trainee to Lean Master.
"One important change was
our new structure. In the past,
everyone did everything
and now there is a
clear allocation of employees
according to operational
or strategic tasks."
Yvonne Oesterling, Purchasing Manager
10 STAUFEN. | FEIG

»
"Entrepreneurs and companies, who want to
understand the interaction of lean management,
adaptability and economic success,
are always welcome."
Eldor Walk, Managing Director
«
STAUFEN. | FEIG 11

ABOUT STAUFEN
Inside every company there is an even better one.
With this conviction, Staufen AG has been advising and qualifying
companies and employees for more than 25 years.
320
employees
65
Mio. € revenue
17
languages
>70
5.000
seminar participants every year
BestPractice Partner
PUBLISHER
STAUFEN.AG
Consulting.Academy.Investment
Blumenstraße 5
D-73257 Köngen
+49 7024 8056 0
www.staufen.ag
contact@staufen.ag
CONTACT PERSON
Christoph Heine
Director Sales
c.heine@staufen.ag
+49 7024 8056 169
INSIDE EVERY COMPANY
THERE IS AN EVEN BETTER ONE.