Eugen Seitz AG wins Swiss Lean Award

A few days ago, the KMU SWISS AG awarded the Swiss Lean Awards for the very first time as a part of their forum event in Baden. And the winner in the category of companies with up to 249 employees is the Eugen Seitz AG from Wetzikon, Canton Zurich. The company, which specialises in valve technology, won over the jury through consistent implementation of the concept of lean management in all areas of business. This award is a confirmation and validation of the lean management initiative started in 2005.

The KMU SWISS AG allows SMEs in Switzerland to network among themselves. They understand themselves as a platform to exchange knowledge, skills and experiences. During the KMU SWISS Forum in Baden on May 5, the organisers awarded the Swiss Lean Award for the very first time – a national award for top-class performance based on the philosophy of lean management.

Doing the right thing

A ‘lean’ company, meaning a company that implements the lean method, mainly orients itself according to one factor: flow time.

The ‘lean’ principle applies to all areas of business, from product development to administration, manufacturing, assembly and logistics. The ‘lean’ company is characterised by always trying to avoid non-value-adding activities (e.g. storage, transportation), and to eliminate wasteful processes (e.g. excess stock, leadership problems).

‘Lean’ does not just mean working faster, but also doing the ‘right thing’. Among many things, this calls for optimised management and practise abilities from management. 

Long-term focus

Eugen Seitz AG’s lean management initiative dates back to the year 2005.

“The board of directors and management supported this strategic initiative from the get-go,” explains Urs Seitz, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Eugen Seitz AG. “We wanted to go into this topic effectively and invest in all areas of business, which is why we chose such a long timeframe.” The transformation began by giving key employees the right training and by initialising the first measures (e.g. 5S: improving workplace organisation), as well as introducing a continuous improvement process – or ‘CIP’ for short. As a result, jobs were re-structured, new methods were evaluated and taught, and new processes were defined, introduced and solidified. The second step was to integrate the lean principles into product development. “We have been practising lean development consistently since 2009,” says Dr Stefan Gläser, CTO and person in charge of lean development at Eugen Seitz AG. A lean development process guarantees optimal development of products when it comes to time, cost and quality. This is based on a process which has been developed and standardised over the course of many years. The individual steps have been documented meticulously, and the employees have been trained intensely. Today, lean management has found its way into all areas of organisation and key areas (development, administration, logistics, manufacturing, assembly). “We’ve even gone one step further and included our key suppliers and partners. Today, they are all integrated successfully in our procurement process,” says Thomas Girelli.

Award as a logical consequence

The Swiss Lean Award confirms the lean management initiative started in 2005.

Today, Eugen Seitz AG profits from robust products and processes which are highly customer and efficiency-oriented, as well as the mindset and behaviour of its employees and leaders. Production cost was lowered significantly, flow times are much shorter and capital commitment is pleasantly low. Employees and managers are noticeably more motivated – they profit from the personal integration into processes, their active participation and co-creation, as well as constant further development of their working skills. Lean management is more than just an end unto itself, however – the company must be profitable and continue to improve its competitiveness. This promotes innovation and helps maintain Switzerland as an area of activity.

Swiss Lean Award and KMU SWISS AG

The Swiss Lean Award is a national award for top-class performance based on the philosophy of lean management.

The award ceremony first took place on May 5, 2011, as a part of the KMU SWISS Forum in Baden, Canton Aargau. The recipients were manufacturing companies and organisations which show outstandingly efficient organisation and who integrate the philosophy of lean management into all areas of business. The participating companies were subject to a thorough analysis as part of their application process. Here, strengths and weaknesses were assessed, and potential areas of improvement were pointed out. The evaluation was carried out based on a model for appraising companies, which consists of four main criteria: leadership, development, production and life cycle aspects. After a comprehensive self-assessment, the companies underwent independent audits on site. A professional jury of six jurors, led by Dr Uwe W. Schulz from Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, carried out the evaluation. The Swiss Lean Award is awarded yearly in four categories (1 to 9, 10 to 49, 50 to 249 and more than 250 employees). The winner is announced the following year by the jury and can only re-apply for consideration three years after winning. The Swiss Lean Awards are hosted by the KMU SWISS AG. They allow SMEs in Switzerland to network amongst each other. Partners and sponsors of the award ceremony are: 
Staufen Beratung, Witzig Bürotechnik, Item Industrietechnik and Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.

Eugen Seitz AG

Seitz Valve Technology is a leading family business and has been developing, producing and selling magnetic valves and valve systems for air and other gases for 50 years.

Seitz is active in the following target markets: PET bottle production, natural gas and hydrogen powered vehicles and their refuelling systems as well as large diesel engines, gas turbines and chemical plants. Their around 150 employees in Switzerland, Germany, China and Dubai create added value for customers around the world.