Case Study

Production optimization at a medium-sized chemical company in Germany

Atreus implemented a digital planning board for production optimization, built up an operational excellence team, and achieved an EBITDA improvement of more than 5 million € through more than 35 new projects.

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Company details

Manufacturer of pigments, polymers, agrochemicals, pharmaceutical precursors and APIs
GmbH with 110 million Euro sales and 450 employees at 3 sites in Frankfurt/Main, Germany
70 % contract manufacturing for third parties, 30 % commercialization of own products

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Situation and challenge

Too low efficiency in operations; product portfolio poorly sorted
Inventories too high, especially for intermediate products
Lack of market/customer orientation

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Objective and task

Process review of the top ten products
Achieve EBITDA of more than 15 % (previously 8 %)
Implementation of sustainable processes

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Measures and approach

Review of all products for their potential to increase efficiency
Implementation of a digital planning board (OR-Soft)
Establishment of a team for OpEx (Operational Excellence) as driver and master for all improvements (35 new projects)

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Results and achievements

EBITDA (2018) greater than 17%
Inventory reduction of > EUR 1 million
Creation of a basis for further efficiency improvements (roadmap for new COO)
Establishment of a customer and performance oriented organization