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Then Mass now Class: Munsch Chemie-Pumpen GmbH Success Story by Staufen AG

Munsch Chemie-Pumpen GmbH from the Westerwald had to reinvent itself after the financial crisis of 2009. The restructuring of production as part of the "Blue Sky" project laid the foundation for spectacular sales growth.

Munsch Chemie-Pumpen GmbH from the Westerwald had to reinvent itself after the financial crisis of 2009. The restructuring of production as part of the "Blue Sky" project laid the foundation for spectacular sales growth.

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THEN<br />

MASS<br />

NOW<br />

CLASS


STAUFEN. | MUNSCH<br />

2<br />

»<br />

We have been focusing on lean culture for 15 years.<br />

In the end, the simple application of methods<br />

became a way of life.<br />

«<br />

Stefan <strong>Munsch</strong>, Managing Director, <strong>Munsch</strong> <strong>Chemie</strong>-<strong>Pumpen</strong> <strong>GmbH</strong>


STAUFEN. | MUNSCH<br />

3<br />

<strong>Then</strong> mass,<br />

<strong>now</strong> class<br />

<strong>Munsch</strong> <strong>Chemie</strong>-<strong>Pumpen</strong> <strong>GmbH</strong> from the Westerwald<br />

had to reinvent itself after the financial crisis of 2009.<br />

The restructuring of production as part of the "Blue Sky"<br />

project laid the foundation for spectacular sales growth.<br />

From Ransbach-Baumbach northeast of Koblenz out into the<br />

COMPANY<br />

PORTRAIT<br />

world: <strong>Munsch</strong> <strong>Chemie</strong>-<strong>Pumpen</strong> <strong>GmbH</strong> delivers around 80 percent<br />

of its production abroad. What makes the pumps from this<br />

family business so unique: They are made entirely of plastic instead<br />

of metal as usual. This makes it possible, for example, to<br />

transport chemically contaminated liquids that would otherwise<br />

damage metal pumps. The company was founded <strong>by</strong> the father<br />

of the Managing Director in 1964. Currently, the company has<br />

125 employees and generated sales of €27.5 million in 2017. Remarkably,<br />

nearly one tenth of annual sales is invested in research<br />

and development every year, whereas the industry average is<br />

only between four and six percent.


STAUFEN. | MUNSCH<br />

4<br />

INITIAL<br />

SITUATION<br />

"With the financial crisis of 2009, our world changed completely<br />

as orders began to break away," recalls Managing Director Stefan<br />

<strong>Munsch</strong>. "Until then, 70 percent of our sales were achieved in a<br />

single industry with a limited portfolio of standardized pumps.<br />

Thanks to standardization, we had an excellent process flow in<br />

the areas of manufacturing and assembly."<br />

As orders began to slump, the company succeeded in winning<br />

new industries as customers with the help of product innovations.<br />

The result: an explosion of product variance. Instead of<br />

standard pumps, custom-made pumps were <strong>now</strong> required. This<br />

impacted the previously good process flow. "The existing Kanban<br />

system reached its limits," says Managing Director <strong>Munsch</strong>. The<br />

assembly area underwent restructuring according to lean criteria<br />

prior to 2007, while the product area remained untouched.


STAUFEN. | MUNSCH 5


STAUFEN. | MUNSCH<br />

6<br />

Stefan <strong>Munsch</strong>, Managing Director, <strong>Munsch</strong> <strong>Chemie</strong>-<strong>Pumpen</strong> <strong>GmbH</strong>


STAUFEN. | MUNSCH<br />

7<br />

Production was turned upside down<br />

APPROACH<br />

At the beginning of 2015, <strong>Staufen</strong> <strong>AG</strong> was commissioned with reorganizing<br />

the production area, which consists of machining and<br />

the pressing plant, according to lean principles. Until then, both<br />

areas had been organized for classic workshop production.<br />

The first step was to determine the lean maturity level of the existing<br />

organizational structure as part of an audit. Since it was as<br />

low as expected, at 30 to 40 percent, it quickly became clear that<br />

there was considerable potential for optimization.<br />

Subsequently, a value stream analysis was carried out. The lead<br />

time was determined through the system. At 120 days, it turned<br />

out to be extremely high. This greatly hindered the company‘s<br />

flexibility.<br />

It was striking that until then, every single machine produced<br />

almost everything. Setup times were correspondingly frequent.<br />

In order to minimize these mandatory breaks, a separation was<br />

implemented as the first measure. "Our pumps consist of five<br />

core elements: impeller, casing, casing cover, cast parts and base<br />

plate. A separate process chain was created for each element,"<br />

says Managing Director <strong>Munsch</strong>. Since each element <strong>now</strong> only<br />

passes through one of these chains, both lead and setup times<br />

could be significantly reduced.


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8<br />

Shop Floor Management board in production


STAUFEN. | MUNSCH<br />

9<br />

Employees feel they are taken<br />

seriously and valued<br />

INTRODUCTION<br />

OF SHOP FLOOR<br />

MAN<strong>AG</strong>EMENT<br />

Along with the introduction of Shop Floor Management in manufacturing,<br />

a new management system was implemented. Until<br />

then, there had been no holistic system for this. At the beginning,<br />

employees and executives were not exactly enthusiastic<br />

about the plan. There was a fear of control.<br />

However, once the employees understood the meaning and<br />

purpose of Shop Floor Management in practice, these fears<br />

subsided. At its core, the new system is not about personal control,<br />

but about identifying deviations from the defined goal and<br />

taking measures to improve it. In short: If deviations are identified,<br />

measures are taken.<br />

Meanwhile, employees have recognized what Shop Floor Management<br />

means for teamwork. And they love it. They actively<br />

participate in daily meetings on the shop floor and educate<br />

themselves through training courses on presenting and moderating.<br />

The employees feel they are taken seriously and valued.<br />

The entire organization <strong>now</strong> works more closely and efficiently<br />

together.<br />

"Each team leader <strong>now</strong> holds a meeting every morning in their<br />

area at the shop floor board. The figures are passed on to the<br />

production and logistics unit and then to me," says Managing<br />

Director <strong>Munsch</strong>. "At half past nine I k<strong>now</strong> exactly what‘s going<br />

on at the factory."<br />

Thanks to Shop Floor Management, his Production Manager<br />

Jörg Martin not only has a management system but also a key<br />

performance indicator system at his disposal. It measures productivity,<br />

setup time deviations, quality and delivery reliability,<br />

among other things, on a daily basis. The key figures are aligned<br />

in such a way that employees can identify with them, i.e. influence<br />

them through their work.


STAUFEN. | MUNSCH<br />

10<br />

Pump up the volume<br />

RESULTS<br />

The results of the transformation so far are impressive. Although<br />

the number of employees has not changed from 125, sales increased<br />

significantly between 2015 and 2017 from €22.8 million<br />

to €27.5 million. This corresponds to a 21 percent increase in labor<br />

productivity.<br />

In the same period, the lead time in pump production fell <strong>by</strong> 20<br />

percent, so did the inventories held in this area. Instead of 30 to<br />

40 percent, the lean maturity level is <strong>now</strong> 75 percent.<br />

"The production hall is <strong>now</strong> clean and tidy. Because the orders<br />

are dispatched as late as possible, there is hardly any material<br />

left in the hall," says Managing Director <strong>Munsch</strong>. For material this<br />

means: "First in, first out."<br />

In fall 2017, the shop floor concept at <strong>Munsch</strong> was transferred<br />

to the first administrative area: sales. And the results are great:<br />

Thanks to the newly introduced deviation management, the sales<br />

staff have <strong>now</strong> also grown together to form a real team.<br />

Managing Director <strong>Munsch</strong> is satisfied with the results: "Today,<br />

we see the lean concept as a comprehensive qualification, training<br />

and improvement system. On the one hand, we use it for generating<br />

customer benefits. On the other, and just as importantly,<br />

for the satisfaction of our employees."


STAUFEN. | MUNSCH<br />

11


ABOUT STAUFEN<br />

Mexico.<br />

Germany.<br />

Switzerland.<br />

Italy.<br />

Poland.<br />

Czech Republic.<br />

Slovakia.<br />

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China.<br />

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70 BestPractice partners<br />

Brazil.<br />

brand eins Thema<br />

2015<br />

BESTE<br />

BERATER<br />

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2016<br />

BESTE<br />

BERATER<br />

CONTACT<br />

Michael Henne<br />

Director Sales<br />

m.henne@staufen.ag<br />

+49 7024 8056 150<br />

PUBLISHER<br />

STAUFEN.<strong>AG</strong><br />

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Blumenstraße 5<br />

D-73257 Köngen<br />

+49 7024 8056 0<br />

www.staufen.ag<br />

contact@staufen.ag<br />

INSIDE EVERY COMPANY<br />

THERE IS AN EVEN BETTER ONE.

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