Lean Thinking, the operational strategy born in the automotive environment and which today is applied to all areas including industrial and service fields to increase efficiency and remove waste, has become for Ma.ti.ka. the lever for a true internal revolution. A revolution that has brought not only efficiency but above all a real change of mindset. One of the keys to business success.

Nothing magic, instead, the awareness that a change of mentality was needed, which has led the Company to invest in human capital, one of the main Company resources, in quality and production flexibility. Founded in 1979 as an industrial fans manufacturer, Ma.ti.ka. today is a leader in the production, design, and development of customized fans and air handling systems, with a high technological level and a custom-made approach.

Beginning with the belief that technological excellence without a following cultural change may not bring the expected benefits, the Company started promoting a successful lean transformation project, in which people were fully involved in the project, completely sharing the corporate vision.

Our strategy, which is nothing more than a methodology, has focused on training employees to prepare them to face the typical transformations of Ma.ti.ka.‘s mission, focused on efficiency and quality of work. Streamlining of procedures, downtime decrease, and reduction of overproduction are the key points we have focused on. Giving the final customer an excellent product and service. Where for the quality we not only refer to finished products, but also to the processes involved in their realization.

Along many years of cooperation, we have employed many techniques, from 5S to SMED, from Spaghetti Chart to Makigami, from Kanban to Visual Management. However, we are aware that Company improvement and efficiency are not only a question of technique. Indeed, they are like a journey made together, where we have asked for and given cooperation, mutual trust, harmony.

The production areas have been radically modified and the workstations made more ergonomic in compliance with safety legal requirements in the workplace and productivity. The operators have been trained to be autonomous and interchangeable within the production lines or cells.

This has been possible thanks to the use of a dynamic tool such as the Skill Matrix, updated periodically during dedicated Genba meetings. Order and standardization of operational and production processes, already pursued, have led Ma.ti.ka. to become more and more a “visual” factory, creating the basis for each future improvement activity.

The introduction of kanban materials management is innovative, using KanbanBOX, the in-cloud software that allows real-time monitoring of the materials flow and the tag’s status, providing statistics on the warehouse and on supply times and enabling a streamlined communication system even between the Company customers and suppliers, to drastically reduce the time needed for orders processing.

Design as well has changed its vision, thanks to the introduction of project management standards, best practices, and structured and repeatable process frameworks. These standards, without affecting the product’s high levels of innovation and efficiency, bring the advantage of promoting the spread of a culture of standard within the organization, which is essential for building a base of knowledge and management skills shared by all the project teams.

Last but not least, the improvement has affected the information and communication flows, building a model based on the structures and tools for information sharing organized among the various Company areas.

Made to measure. Made to be successful.