Interview with the Enneatech AG
As the summer goes on, another new partner has joint our initiative: the Enneatech AG. Polyamides are the core part of the company from Grossefehn. With a capacity of 20,000 tons and 37 employees the speciality compounder manufactures PA, PET and PBT of different colors. Using green electricity out of wind and water power, rests of textil fibers as raw material for the product series Entron blue as well as energy efficient machines sustainability is focussed. Enneatech is strongly orientated towards its customers and their needs - each compound has to fulfill the customer's individual requirements.
We conducted our interview with Hartmut Schoon, chairman of the Enneatech AG, in order to give you some interesting insights in the company and their approaches and views around Operational Excellence. Enjoy reading!
Which approaches and measures concerning Operational Excellence are already implemented at your company?
Hartmut Schoon: Due to our manageable size we have a lean organisational structure, short information and decision paths and thus, we can flexibly react to the requirements of the market or the needs of our customers. Since the beginning of our business activity we have concentrated on a few products, which fulfill the quality standards of our customers. We are achieving this by a high analytic of our broad variety of raw materials and the resulting characteristics-orientated forumlations. With the individual formulations for our customers we are able to provide large amounts with a consistent quality in order to ensure stable productions processes at our customers. Being valued as A-supplier various times underlines this aspect. In our company the following process are already digitalized: Analytics of the raw materials and finished products, energy consumption and flow rates of our production plants. Since more than two years we have transformed to a paperless office, incoming invoices are scanned, offers, orders and accounts are sent digitally.
Are there further actions planned to be undertaken in the future in this field?
Hartmut Schoon: Over time different software programs were acquired, which are excellent isolated solutions, but do not offer an easy exchange between the different systems. At the moment we are occupied with the choice and purchase of a new ERP and MDE/BDE program, which should be implemented soon.
Does your company offer advanced trainings to the topic Operational Excellence for your employees?
Hartmut Schoon: Not yet at the moment.
What are your expectations on this initiative?
Hartmut Schoon: We are expecting further impulses and information in order to undertake next steps.
To which themes do you wish to exchange thoughts and know-how?
Hartmut Schoon: Over all fields, since one can always learn something new.
Are there specific aspects which are extraordinarily interesting for you? (for example, for networking-meetings or best-practice trips)
Hartmut Schoon: Concerning the process management there is a further need for development with respect to the linkage of data based on artifical intelligence in order to achieve temporally, organisationally and energy-efficiently optimized processes.
Are you interested in workshops during our networking-meetings?
Hartmut Schoon: In principal yes.
Which challenges to you see your company being confronted with in the future?
Hartmut Schoon: The increasing shortage of skilled workers is an issue for us also. Resulting from this, there is to be named the challenge to further automize processes. This challenge however is limited, since fast data transmission spead is not yet possible everywhere in order to promote the required digitalization for industry 4.0 standards. Another challenge are the increasing energy costs, which are negatively influencing our international competitiveness.
Do you see a fundamental change within your sector in the next 5 years?
Hartmut Schoon: Today, we already see an increased demand for sustainable products (small CO2 foot print). This development will further expand and consequently, the demand for bio-based and recycled synthetics will increase. Our customers already like to automatize their ordering process in a digital way in these days. Furthermore, there is the requirement to adjust the internal warehouse logistics to the demografic change, which means to implement automotive vehicles and automatic loading of the plants with raw material. However, the digital infrastructure is still missing.
Thinking about the north-western region, what do you think is mostly needed by the region to challenge the ongoing as well as future changes?
Hartmut Schoon: The infrastructural measures need to be undertaken, such as the expansion of the fibre optic cable for the digitalization, in order to enable the public authorities among others to accelerate approval processes.
In this context, how do you value the potential of initiatives like ours?
Hartmut Schoon: There is a high potential, the requirements of the initiative for the decision-makers need to be communicated in a bundled and determined way.
We are welcoming Enneatech AG as a new partner of our initiative and thank Hartmut Schoon for the interesting interview.
If you have any questions or points of reference, feel free to contact Hartmut Schoon under h.schoon@enneatech.com.
