Interim plant management at an automotive Tier 1 site in Portugal. Operational restructuring, restored profitability and a structured handover to an internally developed successor.
Persistent delivery problems were intensified by an additional production launch. Quality deviations, rework, premium freight and unstable processes strained the site and its relationships with two OEM plants in Portugal and Spain.
Automotive interior components manufactured through large-scale injection molding up to 15,000 kN, flocking, painting and extensive assembly operations.
Restore operational stability and profitability, develop a capable local management team and establish sustainable on-site leadership.
Build a local core team, clarify responsibility in production and quality, and develop key people for long-term ownership.
Rework material flows and assembly layout, stabilize logistics and supplier control, and establish appropriate buffers.
Visualize inspection standards, introduce in-process controls and gauges, and improve tooling and assembly processes.
Prioritize delivery and quality issues and launch immediate countermeasures.
Leadership stabilized, quality root causes tracked and supplier processes under control.
New production layout in place, only internal quality containment and occasional premium freight.
Tool improvements completed; external quality containment and premium freight ended.
Plant returned to profit; continuous improvement embedded and succession preparations underway.
Plant management transferred to a successor from the core team following a comprehensive transition.
Manufacturing stabilized, financial performance recovered and a local management team gained the capability to lead independently. The handover to an internal successor was an integral part of the assignment's success.
This case study is anonymized. Timings and outcomes are based on HaKu-Tech project documentation prepared in 2016.
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