Operation Cooperation

An essential factor for the success of Rauch is the consistently high quality of all its products. And this is to the credit of the production teams in the various factories. "Each of their teams did a great job in their own factories and were justifiably proud," recalls production manager Harald Krammer. "The only thing that didn't work out was the exchange of information between them ... we just couldn’t make that happen. So, we had to reinvent the wheel again and again." In 2011 Krammer decided that it was high time to change all this. The solution: get the people together.

Therefore, he invited the 15 top managers from all of the bottling plants to a 3-day "Operations Meeting" in Vorarlberg. Instead of an agenda crammed full with programmed activities, each factory manager was given 1 - 2 hours to discuss their own issues with their colleagues. In addition, there was a loose supporting programme, a visit to Alpla and plenty of useful conversations. Since then, these meetings have been held annually at a different location each time.

Ever since this first meeting in 2011, there has been a continuous exchange of knowledge and staff between the factories. Everyone learns from one another, everyone helps one another. Says Krammer, "If factory A gets a new filling line with which factory B already has experience, experienced colleagues deliver the training. It doesn't get any simpler or more practice driven than that." Just an extra little detail: the production teams of the cooperation and licensing partners also take part in this lively exchange. Another reason why Rauch has the same great taste all over the world.

Meetings are better than emails: Production managers at all factories work closely together and learn from one another.