Towards a competitive production:

Akzo Nobel Eka Chemicals Bohus

Against the background of rising raw material and energy prices, the Eka Pulp & Paper site in Bohus (Sweden) asked ARV Group to help it meet performance targets and regain its competitive footing. The project involved measures to reduce fixed manufacturing costs at two of the company's production plants, to streamline maintenance and optimize service levels. 

Lasting results

ARV Group applied its expertise to involve management and staff from the start, and so achieve deep and lasting results. "Our role," says ARV Group consultant Jeroen Verheijen, "was to 'nail down' the project results, and to achieve ownership on the part of site management." Another important goal was to "make the implementation form so concrete that the improvements would continue even after we had left. That required co-development of the project with local people."

Working groups of line-responsible management, key staff and ARV Group consultants came up with major improvements in their respective areas. Thorough financial analysis formed the basis for working hypotheses concerning improvements and their potential. Working together, site management and ARV Group then developed a coherent and results-oriented plan to implement the identified improvements.

Beyond target improvements

The original Bohus project resulted in a series of beyond-target improvements amounting to millions of euros in savings, including a 30% reduction in production/labor costs, a 25% reduction in maintenance costs, a 30% reduction in site service costs and a reduction of remnant cost by more than 1 million euros annually.

Following this successful project, Jeroen Verheijen says, Eka Chemicals recently asked ARV group to carry out a similar one at its Alby site.

Ann Lindgärde, Site manager: "The project's success was due in part to the way ARV Group achieved harmony with our organization's culture, enabled us as management team to take the lead and communicated well with our people while presenting them with relevant facts & figures. That formed a major stimulus for the Bohus site."

Gregor Pettersson, Site manager: "While helping us to optimize our maintenance sourcing model and operation, ARV Group showed us the value of 'thinking the other way around'. Now we have not only achieved major cost reductions, but are also able to keep analyzing the way we work in a process of continuous improvement."