Festo’s Sofia production plant wins Lean & Green manufacturing award

Mississauga, ON, January 2020 – Festo’s Sofia, Bulgaria, production center won a 2019 Lean & Green Management award for implementing the so-called OPEX (Operational Excellence) approach in value flow organization. Resource-efficient value chains that reduce costs and increase the sustainability of business processes are an important part of Festo’s production strategy and are implemented at all plants worldwide.

Over 250 production plants from major manufacturers, including major European automakers, participated in the Lean & Green best practice exchange and award assessment. They represented more than 10 countries and 20 different industries. 

Festo’s Sofia plant was honored in the “General Manufacturing” category. The judges were impressed by the way the plant implements green elements as an integral component of its vision and uses resource efficiency as a competitive advantage – with highly motivated teams that concentrate on reducing wastage in all areas along the value chain with excellent outcomes.

“This award recognizes the concerted efforts of all employees at our location,” says Kalin Dobrev, Head of Operations Electronics and Drives in Bulgaria. “It shows that we are on the right track to becoming the ‘ideal value flow organization’. Autonomous teams at the plant manage the necessary resources along the value chain and take responsibility for the production of certain product family groups.

Experts regard the Lean & Green Awards as one of the top accolades bestowed on production plants. The first stage of the assessment of candidates took the form of a questionnaire. The organizer’s consultants then carried out so-called “Lean & Green Assessments” on location with selected finalists among the participating companies. A panel of experts finally assessed the results and decided on the prize-winners.