Recaro Aircraft Seating receives MX Award 2012

In accordance with the motto “recognizing strengths – setting standards,” best practice companies were once again honored with the MX Award this year. In the “customer orientation” category of the competition for excellence in production, Recaro Aircraft Seating was convincing in every aspect. The panel of judges consisting of academic, industry and media representatives were impressed with the aircraft seating manufacturer's outstanding concepts, which, in addition to the market and customer-oriented development of products, primarily guarantee a consistently high level of quality and punctual deliveries. “We are glad to receive this award, which clearly reflects our strengths in the area of production,” says Dr. Mark Hiller, Chief Executive Officer of Recaro Aircraft Seating. “This competition serves us as an excellent tool for assessing where we currently stand, and it is a valuable source of inspiration for further development.”

In the past year, the company has impressively demonstrated its innovative strength: Recaro Aircraft Seating reported record production figures – along with exceptional delivery reliability. The company is also a just-in-sequence supplier for Airbus and received a gold performance rating from Boeing. “Our mission is to be the best seat manufacturer from the point of view of our customers,” says Dr. Mark Hiller as he sums up the high standards at Recaro Aircraft Seating. “This includes high quality and a zero-defect production strategy.”

“Efficiently manufacturing precisely what the customer desires within a very short space of time is not an easy task in the sector where we operate: It is characterized by immense diversity of variants and capacity fluctuations in production,” explains Joachim Ley, Vice President Supply Chain at Recaro Aircraft Seating. “To be successful on the market, we need smoothly operating processes with direct and efficient communication paths and swift decision-making processes. The measures taken during our ‘Operations Excellence’ initiative have proven completely effective here.” A comprehensive optimization program was launched in 2007. Thanks to newly introduced lean production processes, today the company can react even more flexibly and rapidly to changes and current requirements.

Recaro Aircraft Seating has also embraced a special management philosophy. With shopfloor management, the company has developed a culture of consistent improvements to management performance and communication: Thanks to regular exchanges of information, problems are recognized at an early stage, there are immediate reactions to variations and solutions are quickly introduced. “Communication is the key,” says Joachim Ley. “This occurs internally and always in direct, open exchanges with our customers.”

About the MX Award

The MX Award was conferred for the eighth time in 2012. The goal of this benchmarking award is to identify and promote innovative solutions in the area of production and logistics, and help inform the general public. The event aims to foster crossindustry and international cooperation and create a communication platform for scientific and industry experts. In addition to enhancing the long-term competitiveness of individual companies, innovative and creative solutions should serve as a catalyst for close cooperation that strengthens Germany’s standing as a business location.