WESTTECH Maschinenbau GmbH – Innovation from Tradition
WESTTECH Maschinenbau GmbH, based in Prambachkirchen, Austria, is a leading manufacturer of robust and innovative attachments for excavators and tractors. The company specializes in the development and production of special machinery for the forestry and timber industry, landscape maintenance, and agriculture. With a clear focus on quality, efficiency, and customer-oriented solutions, WESTTECH has established itself as a reliable partner in its industry. To meet these high standards within its internal process landscape, the company decided to introduce a professional e-Kanban system.
From Excel List to Strategic Tool
Even before working with manufactus, the Kanban concept was firmly established at WESTTECH.
“Yes, a ‘homegrown’ Excel-based system was in use,” explains Mr. Benedikt Kreuzhuber, Head of Development.
The fundamental introduction of Kanban in production thus took place approximately one year before the switch to a digital solution.
This initial phase was crucial, as it proved the immense potential of the method for the company. Mr. Kreuzhuber recalls:
“After introducing our ‘homegrown’ card system, we were convinced of Kanban’s future viability at WESTTECH after only a short time.”
However, the success of the manual system quickly sparked the desire to further professionalize, expand, and digitally support the processes. The search for a powerful e-Kanban system began.
The Decision for IKS and a Smooth Implementation
They opted for the Integrated Kanban System (IKS) from manufactus.
“manufactus was the only provider that could offer us a suitable solution,” says Mr. Kreuzhuber.
A key advantage for a quick and successful implementation was that the Kanban processes and workflows were already established and familiar to the employees within the company.
“Since the Kanban system was already in use, we ‘only’ had to swap out the software in the background,”
explains Mr. Kreuzhuber. This circumstance enabled an impressively short implementation phase: only three months passed from the first workshop to the full commissioning of the IKS.
People at the Heart of Change
When introducing a new system, technical aspects are only one side of the coin. For Mr. Kreuzhuber, the key to success lies primarily with the employees and the company culture.
“You have to bring people along and challenge ingrained processes,” he emphasizes.
For WESTTECH, the introduction of Kanban was more than just a new tool – it was a “total transformation of thinking and production methods.”
Two factors were crucial:
- unwavering support from management, and
- the professional preliminary work carried out as part of a diploma thesis, which accompanied the initial introduction.
The subsequent transition to the e-Kanban system IKS then finally professionalized this change and elevated it to a new level.
Thus, at WESTTECH, the successful introduction of Kanban also heavily depended on the active involvement of colleagues. Ultimately, they are the ones who work with the processes daily and bring the system to life. For this reason, they were involved early on, which led to a better understanding of goals and benefits, reduced resistance, and significantly increased acceptance. In addition, employees contribute valuable practical knowledge to adapt Kanban rules to reality. This created not only a technical system but also a living culture of continuous improvement that ensures long-term stability and efficiency.
Efficiency, Flexibility, and a Clear Competitive Advantage
The benefits from the use of Kanban and IKS are clearly noticeable in daily operations.
“Due to the elimination of inventory management and a high number of common parts, we can produce a large number of different machine types with low inventory levels and very little organizational effort,”
Mr. Kreuzhuber summarizes the key improvements.
IKS in Daily Operation: A System for All Areas
Today, IKS is deeply embedded in WESTTECH’s operational processes and controls the entire material supply.
The system is comprehensively used for:
- Supplier Kanban: for automated connection and control of external suppliers.
- Inventory Kanban: for intelligent management of internal inventory levels.
- Production Kanban: for demand-driven material supply directly at the assembly lines
The dimensions of the system illustrate its central role in the company: Currently, 1,027 control loops with a total of 4,571 Kanbans are controlled via IKS.
Future Outlook: Deep Integration and Continuous Optimization
Stagnation is not an option for WESTTECH. The e-Kanban system is continuously being developed and integrated even more deeply into the IT system landscape.
“We have just introduced an ERP system and coupled it with IKS; our CAD system is also connected to IKS,”
reports Mr. Kreuzhuber. This advanced and cost-reducing integration shows that IKS is not just an isolated system, but a central building block in WESTTECH’s digital corporate architecture.
The refinement of these couplings will continue to be driven forward in the future.
Thus, WESTTECH successfully transitioned to a highly efficient production method that enables a wide variety of variants with low inventory levels and minimal organizational effort. Even though no concrete savings figures were collected, the conclusion is clear:
“It can be said that a considerable share of our company’s success is based on this production method.”
This trust in the system is also reflected in a concise statement that has become a guiding principle within the company:
“If a part is in KANBAN, there are no problems.”
This sentence highlights how reliably and robustly the material supply at WESTTECH functions today.