Case Study:
Restructuring of a Medium-sized Company in the Process Industry
Company:
Chemical process engineering, impregnation of papers, approx. 150 employees, €65 millio annual turnover, integrated in a holding structure
Initial Situation:
The companies earnings situation was threatened by significant capacity utilizytion fluctuations. The installed machine capacities as well as the deployed personnel were designed for peak loads therefore often underutilized. The company was threatened with significant losses.
Implementation:
After analyzing the overall situation, as CEO I first created a concept to make the company able to survive. This included numerous individual measures that could be implemented very quickly after discussion with the works council. A key point here was the at least transitional reduction of the machine and personnel capacities used in order to increase the utilization rate quickly. For this purpose, a social plan was required, which was also implemented at short notice. In addition to the capacity adjustments, key positions in company management, such as VP sales, CFO and VP operations, have been filled. This was the basis for significant unit cost reductions, as set-up times and idle times could be significantly reduced under new management. The new sales team was able to increase sales with even more intensive customer support and adapted cash management helped to bridge this difficult period.
Results:
Through these drastic measures, the company has survived a situation with positive operating results that would otherwise very likely have guided in bankruptcy.