Operations Team Conducts Benchmark Visits to Vibrantz and DAF

As part of the Operational Excellence programme launched in 2025, our Operations Team carried out two benchmark visits. The objective of these visits was to observe how insights from the classroom training sessions — provided by consultancy firm You Improve — are applied in practice at companies that have gone through a similar improvement journey.

The first benchmark visit took place earlier this year at Vibrantz in Sittard, a manufacturer of colour pigments. The focus there was on performance management (steering through KPIs) and 5S (standardisation, order and cleanliness) on the shop floor. A key takeaway was that every improvement journey comes with challenges at the start, and that it is perfectly normal to return to the drawing board from time to time to reassess ideas. Most notably, the visit clearly demonstrated the importance and impact of continuous improvement in close collaboration with the shop floor, an essential factor for long-term success.

The second benchmark visit brought us last month to DAF in Westerlo, where truck cabins are produced. Similar to BCF, DAF operates with a wide range of product variants that are assembled intermixed on the same production line. During this visit, the main focus was on internal material flows.

No single recipe for success

“The most important lesson we took away is that there is no single recipe for success; real success lies in combining different internal logistics techniques,” concludes Plant Manager Jan Van Daal. “One insight stood out clearly: an effective material flow always starts from the ‘Point of Use’, the workstation of the employee who assembles parts onto the final product and creates the highest added value.”

We returned inspired, and the first improvement actions for our own assembly operations have already been initiated.