Altro have been at the forefront of innovation for over 100 years. They invented safety flooring, the world’s first adhesive-free safety floor and also introduced a complete hygienic walls system. Established in 1919, Altro have grown into a global company with over 900 employees. Working closely with architects, end customers, engineers, designers and contractors around the world, Altro’s insight and expertise help them transform everyday spaces into environments that can improve the wellbeing of everyone that uses them.
Host Companies
- Voice of the Customer & Customer Service Excellence
- Lean Manufacturing
- Innovation and R&D
- Creating a Great Place to Work
Appollo Fire Detectors specialise in the design and manufacture of high-quality fire detection solutions that protect people from fire in over 100 countries around the world.
Based in Havant, Hampshire, on the UK’s south coast, they operate through regional offices in the UK, China, Dubai, and Germany and support their network of partners and distributors on all five continents. They are proud to be part of Halma, a global FTSE 50 group of life-saving technology companies.
uses them.
- Lean Journey & Kaizen
- Productivity through Automation
- Target setting & Sharing
BAE Systems in Rochester, Kent is home to the organisations Electronic Systems Division. This site has been designing, manufacturing and supporting aerospace and avionics products for more than 70 years. Electronic Systems spans the commercial and defence electronics markets with a broad portfolio of mission-critical electronic systems, including flight and engine controls, electronic warfare and night vision systems; surveillance and reconnaissance sensors; secure networked communications equipment, and power and energy management systems.
- Design for Manufacture/NPI
- Employee Engagement
- Sustaining Lean
The Hams Hall plant located just outside of Birmingham, in the UK, produces the latest generation of three and four cylinder petrol engines. Production also includes the machining of key engine components. First opened in 2001, more than 1,000 people work at the plant, including a number of apprentices, students and graduates.
- Lean & Continuous Improvement
- Employee Engagement & Standard Work
- Benchmarking Audit & Gemba Walks
Buhler Sortex is a world leader in innovation and delivery of sorting solutions to the global food and non-food processing industries. We design, manufacture and supply optical sorting machines to over 100 countries throughout the world. The machines are used to detect and remove unwanted and blemished material from products such as rice, coffee, nuts, vegetables, etc. We are a low volume, high value, high technology assembly operation utilising modern manufacturing techniques.
- Lean & Continuous Improvement
- Team Leadership
- Industry 4.0
Crowcon Detection Instruments specialises in the development, manufacture, sale and support of flammable and toxic gas detection equipment. The company was founded in 1970 and has constantly led the field with products designed for safety and environmental monitoring.
- Operational Strategy & Roadmap
- Customer Focused Improvements & Lean Office
- R&D Collaborative Roadmap
Cummins is a world leader in the design and manufacture of engines and power generation equipment, including Power Command standby and prime power systems. The site also provides single-source warranty, planned maintenance, and round-the-clock emergency service 24 hours a day, seven days a week including back-up power rental through our network of distributors.
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Lean & Continuous Improvement
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Employee Engagement & Creating a CI Culture
- Sustaining Lean
DHL Supply Chain, part of the EUR 56.6bn DPDHL Group, is the world’s leading contract logistics provider. Combining value-added and management services with traditional fulfilment and distribution, our customised, integrated logistics solutions drive efficiency, improve quality and create competitive advantage.
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Lean & Continuous Improvement
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Employee Engagement
- Managing a Multi-Site CI Programme
Double H Nursery grows & supplies flowering houseplants for the major supermarkets such as Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury and Tesco. They have been an accredited Investor in People since 1997 and this reflects their commitment to developing their staff at every level of the business.
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Lean & Continuous Improvement
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Visual Management
- Engagement in CI & Lean
Dwr Cymru Welsh Water supplies drinking water and wastewater services to most of Wales and parts of Western England. It is unique in the water industry, as it is the only not-for-profit Water company in England and Wales. It employs over 3,000 people and serves more than 3 million customers. The company has been recognised for its customer service standards and engagement with its diverse customer base.
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Lean deployment
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Visual Management & Team Huddles
- Training & Development
- Lean Training Programme
Entek International Ltd manufactures PE battery separators which are used in automotive batteries. The plant exports 100% of everything it produces. The production lines run 24X7, continually mixing and extruding materials into a continuous polyethylene sheet, which is then subjected to various highly specialised treatments. This is high volume continuous process manufacturing using capital lines and ancillary site services.
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Lean Transformation
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People Management
- Environment
Fujifilm Speciality Ink Systems Limited is a global leader in the manufacture of speciality printing inks, producing high performance products for screen, digital and flexo narrow web print which colour the images on thousands of products you see everyday. World-class products for print, from retail displays, textiles and packaging to CDs and DVDs, Fujifilm inks are developed by an international research team for use in a diverse range of applications on many types of material. A pioneer in the development of UV curing inks.
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Quality Journey
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Projects and People
Happy is a multi-award-winning company that was voted 2nd best workplace in the UK in the Financial Times. A training company based in Aldgate, central London, Happy employs just 25 people but has won widespread recognition for its unique approach.
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Creating a great place to work
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Great Customer Service
- Establishing a trust-based culture
Heimbach is a global supplier of products for the Paper Industry – specifically the fabrics that cloth the paper and cardboard manufacturing machines. They have established themselves as the supplier of choice within their industry.
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Creating a great place to work
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CI Projects
- Employee Engagement & Training
Ipsen is a leading biopharmaceutical group dedicated to improving lives through innovative medicines in oncology, neuroscience and rare diseases. The Wrexham site is one of 7 Global Manufacturing sites and is the home of Neuroscience. Since 1990 Ipsen has focused on pioneering research in neurotoxins and more recently on recombinant neurotoxin engineering. The drug Dysport, which is manufactured in Wrexham is based on a type-A botulinum toxin, which inhibits the transmission of nerve impulses to the muscle. It is used to treat a wide range of muscle related conditions such as spasticity, multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injuries.
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Enterprise Excellence
- Employee Engagement
Kellogg’s is one of the world’s leading manufacturer of food items (especially breakfast and convenience foods). From it’s beginning in 1906 in the USA to now they have been following the same philosophy of ‘improved diet and improved health’. Kellogg’s products are manufactured I 19 countries and sold in 160 and it’s products are much loved household names.
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Logistics & Distribution
In 1965, Lionel Hitchen founded a business sourcing, creating, manufacturing and supplying the finest flavour ingredients. Today, over five decades later, Lionel Hitchen is still an independent family-owned company, driven by that same passion.
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HR and Employee Engagement
- Finance
- Customer Service & Logistics
Malvern Panalytical is a manufacturer and supplier of laboratory analytical instruments. It has been influential in the development of the Malvern Correlator, and it remains notable for its work in the advancement of particle sizing technology.
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Daily Management
- Single Piece Flow
- Our Lean Operating Model
Marshalls is the UK’s leading supplier of concrete and natural stone products for external landscaping. We manufacture products for both commercial and domestic markets, including paving, block paving, kerb and edgings, drainage and water management solutions, protective street furniture, lighting, concrete bricks, masonry, walling and mortar.
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Operational Excellence
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Employee Development
- Maturity Assessment
Milliken European Airbag Products (MEAP) is a textile manufacturing site converting man made yarns into specialised fabric for use in the highly competitive automotive Airbag market. MEAP manufacture fabric from yarns in plain and coated forms for use in the manufacture of vehicle airbag modules. They also secondary process some material into cut component parts tackling the issues and concerns of today.
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World Class Manufacturing & Lean
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Supply Chain Excellence
- Continuous Improvement & Engagement
Montupet is a French-owned aluminium foundry and has long been recognised as an industry leader in the manufacture of complex cast aluminium components for the automotive industry worldwide. We work in partnership with our customers to develop and produce cast and machined parts for a wide range of car manufacturers and Tier-1 suppliers to companies such as AUDI, BMW, CITROËN, DAEWOO, FORD, GENERAL MOTORS, NISSAN, PEUGEOT, RENAULT and VOLVO . Other engine parts include hub carriers and steering knuckles, pump and turbo-charger housings, break master cylinders and calipers.
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Lean & Continuous Improvement Journey
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People & Skills
At Morgan we believe the design and manufacture of truly original, high quality furniture is the result of passion, care, design integrity, experience, craftsmanship and an unfaltering dedication to quality. This commitment could not be realised without fully integrating the design and manufacturing processes. At our factory and studio in Hampshire we start the process with trees and finish with beautifully crafted chairs.
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Lean & Continuous Improvement Journey
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People & Skills
Müller UK & Ireland is wholly owned by Unternehmensgruppe Theo Müller which employs 24,000 people throughout Europe. In the UK, Müller develops, manufactures and markets a wide range of branded and private label dairy products made with milk from more than 1,650 British farmers.
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Continuous Improvement Journey
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TPM & Maintenance
- Culture of Change
New Holland are a leading manufacturer of tractors for the Agricultural sector. Part of the Case New Holland Group (a division of Fiat) they have been manufacturing in Basildon for over fifty years. They are one of the few World Class Manufacturing (WCM) sites and have won a raft of industry best factory awards.
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World Class Manufacturing
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Health, Safety & Environment
NHS NHS Blood & Transplant employs over 5,000 people in over 200 locations across the UK. This remarkable organisation provides a blood and transplantation service to the NHS, looking after blood donation services in England and transplant services across the UK. This includes managing the donation, storage and transplantation of blood, organs, tissues, bone marrow and stem cells, and researching new treatments and processes.
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Continuous Improvement Journey
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Engagement & Culture
- Smart Working & 6S
Nissan Sunderland Plant is one of the UK’s biggest car manufacturers. In 2016, the Plant was responsible for 507,000 of the 1.73 million cars that rolled off UK production lines. One in every three new cars built in the UK comes from Sunderland Plant.
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Kaizen
- Just in Time
- PLM – Maintenance
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Role of a Supervisor
Princes Foods is one of the world’s leading supplier of food and drink products. With a diverse portfolio of products including many household names, the company supplies to major supermarkets across the world. Owned by the Mitsubishi Group since 1989 the company continues to grow both organically and through acquisition.
- Lean & Continuous Improvement
- Employee Engagement
- H&S and Environment
The Park, is a multi-award winning (manufacturer of the year for 2019) bottling facility which employs over 500 people and produces 23 million 9L case equivalents of wine each year of which 80% of that volume is for the Accolade Wines Brands. 2021 saw the launch of contract packing with major brands who now have their products serviced by the business. The Park is the only dedicated wine bottling facility in Britain, with the ability to package every format, from 187ml to 75cl in glass bottles and 1.5Ltr to 10Ltr casks. Accolade wines has 51 brands that are sold in over 140 countries, headline brands include Echo Falls and Hardy’s.
- Lean manufacturing and onsite blending
- World class warehousing
- Sustainability
SAFRAN is an international high-tech Group and Tier 1 supplier of systems and equipment in the aerospace and defence markets. Operating worldwide, Safran has more than 58,000 employees an degenerated sales of 16.5 million Euros in 2017. In February 2018, Safran took ownership of Zodiac Aerospace, significantly expanding it’s aircraft equipment activities.
- Continuous Improvement Journey
- TPM & Maintenance
- Sustaining Lean
Siemens Motion Control was established in the United Kingdom 175 years ago and now employs around 6,000 people in the UK. As a leading global engineering and technology services company, Siemens provides innovative solutions to help tackle the world’s major challenges, across the key sectors of infrastructure & cities, energy, industry and healthcare. Siemens has offices and factories throughout the UK, with its headquarters in Frimley, Surrey.
- Innovation
- Lean Journey
- Industry 4.0
Siemens Magnet Technology is the world’s leading designer and manufacturer of superconducting magnets for medical Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines. The company’s aim is to deliver high quality products to customers. Around 95% of the magnets produced at Eynsham are exported and the business has several Queen’s Awards for export success.
- Lean Manufacturing
- Supply Chain Management
Teledyne e2v’s innovations have led to breakthroughs in healthcare, life science, space, transportation, defence and security and industrial markets. Founded in 1947, this customer focused organisation has developed technology for many applications, from discovering earth-like planets to powering cancer treatments.
- Sales & Operational Challenge
- Buy-in and Momentum
TRUMPF has been a Family business since 1923. Innovation and technology leading is important to TRUMPF’s strategy. With nearly 15,000 employees worldwide and revenue over 3.5 billion Euros there is a global manufacturing network, all linked and optimised by SYNCHRO (TRUMPF’s Lean model).
In additional to Laser manufacture, TRUMPF produce Machine tools for cutting and bending materials. Other business fields include Additive manufacturing, Photonic components and Extreme Ultra Violet lasers (used in semiconductor manufacture).
- Continuous Improvement
- Lean Manufacturing
- One Piece Flow
The Vale Clydach Refinery located near Swansea in South Wales, is one of Europe’s largest nickel refineries, producing high purity nickel pellet and powder products for specialist applications such as high nickel alloys, batteries, nickel plating and automotive components.
- World Class Manufacturing & Lean Manufacturing
- Engagement & Behaviours
- Sustainability & Environment