Pöttinger, Austria’s agricultural machinery manufacturer, has won first place at the German Idea Management Awards
Many companies apply every year for the German Idea Management Award, the highest award for in-house continuous improvement processes in Germany. This year was the first time that Pöttinger was assessed by the independent jury.
Pöttinger is the first Austrian company to win first prize in the top category “Best Idea Management 2020”. The farm equipment manufacturer promotes the implementation of employees’ ideas using their Kaizen together with “Pöttinger Improvement Process”. The international jury acknowledged the company’s continuous improvement process.
The Kaizen Team is employed full time to conduct audits and improvement workshops on an ongoing basis at all locations. The production and administration are scrutinised in detail including the Pöttinger seed drill technology plant in Bernburg, Germany.
Due to the current situation, the prize was awarded digitally.
“Agricultural engineering is an innovative industry that lives from creative ideas. It is not just about the major innovations. The high volume of small, well-thought-out suggestions is what matters,” said Gregor Dietachmayr, spokesperson for the management team.
According to Pöttinger, these save the company approximately US$6.56mn every year. Almost three out of four employees participate in the improvement process.