Start-up & plant construction, Textiles / high-tech manufacturing, Eastern Europe

From greenfield to series in 18 months

There are countries where a large greenfield start-up is as hard as pitching a tent in 100 km/h gusts. Everything is feasible – but only with cultural understanding, international experience and a team resilient to setbacks.

Client: Textile producer
Industry: Textiles / high-tech manufacturing
Location: Eastern Europe
Duration: 2 years
Services: Plant construction, Ramp-up management, Interim management

Project brief

Starting point: Greenfield start-up with 250 employees and international management
Methods: Change and lean management, project management, leadership, 5S
Stakeholders: Owner, management and 250 employees
Result: Launch after 18 months, defect rate ≤ 3.5 %

Measurable. Traceable.

18months
from greenfield to launch: 250employees
built up and qualified: ≤3.5%
defect rate in high-tech manufacturing

Expat team as engine. An experienced expat team got the project off the ground against the wind – with a local project manager as a must, not a nice-to-have.

From the starting point to the result.

Challenge

Lean was almost a foreign word in the local working and bureaucratic culture. High-tech production with strict defect tolerance needs several attempts before quality is sustainably right – at above-average cost in time and money.

Greenfield without an existing organisation
250 employees to be built up from scratch
Cultural resistance to lean and efficiency

Approach

An expat team with many years of international experience acted as an additional engine. Agile project management gave the teams daily orientation; change and lean management and 5S created standards. Goal: as good as necessary – not as good as possible.

Agile project management as the gold standard
Professional local project manager
Leadership and change management for the majority of the team

Result

Launch after 18 months, defect rate stabilised at a maximum of 3.5 %. The team was won over to lean and efficiency and has run production independently since handover.

Launch after 18 months
Defect rate ≤ 3.5 %
Lean culture anchored in the workforce

The path to the result.

2 years

Month 0–4
Concept & team
Project plan, expat team and local project manager.
Month 4–12
Build-up & recruiting
Plant, organisation and 250 employees built up.
Month 12–18
Start-up & launch
Several quality runs up to launch.
Month 18–24
Stabilisation
Defect rate reduced, handover to local management.

Month 0–4
Concept & team
Project plan, expat team and local project manager.
Month 4–12
Build-up & recruiting
Plant, organisation and 250 employees built up.
Month 12–18
Start-up & launch
Several quality runs up to launch.
Month 18–24
Stabilisation
Defect rate reduced, handover to local management.