PELLENC NAMED “INDUSTRY SHOWCASE OF THE FUTURE”

27/03/2018 - The group is committed to industrial innovation by boosting its production. The "Vitrine Industrie du Futur" (Industry Showcase of the Future) label was recently awarded by the Alliance Industrie du Futur (AIF) to the PELLENC group following the modernisation of its Pertuis factory.

As a major manufacturer of equipment for specialist agriculture and for urban and green spaces, its development is based on a policy of continuing innovation, leading to the registering of 1081 patents, and has also won several prizes for the excellence of its products. PELLENC is growing today, with its turnover almost doubling in 5 years, encouraging it to develop its industrial processes.

to support the company’s competitiveness and productivity as well as enhancing the flexibility and working conditions of employees. Lean Management, kitting, digitisation… All these methods have recently been applied to the French plant’s production lines as part of a continuous improvement policy. Some of the solutions are notable for their example they set, their innovation and results. These achievements have made Pellenc a benchmark and a long-term partner for future advances in manufacturing.

An innovative production line

The group’s strong growth, generated by its innovation policy and by the brand's flourishing reputation among its user customers, has given PELLENC strong reasons to rethink its production. The transformation process was initiated at its Pertuis factory to fix manufacture of PELLENC tools and machines firmly at the heart of all new production plans, with competitive, collaborative working processes for the long-term.

This rooted, ambitious re-energising plan is supported by application of a number of industrial principles:

  • Lean manufacturing to identify value-added operations, improving through-put of operations and the proper balancing of the ranges offered.
  • Kitting to declutter workstations, rearrange, re-balance and simplify production spaces, thus significantly reducing production times.
  • Digitisation ensuring better monitoring of production by creating a database and analytical tools available to operators.
  • Visual arrangement of workshops and workstation, to display production progress and give operators and managers better information on production workflow.
  • Design for Manufacturing, so that product design incorporates production conditions and facilities.

Putting industrial performance at the heart of the company’s challenges

In response to strategic industrial objectives, this transformation project supports PELLENC's overall development. 

Through transformation of the Pertuis plant, the group has achieved some large-scale objectives. “Transformation of the Pertuis site means that the PELLENC group's capacity and industrial flexibility has grown, and the competitiveness of its product range has improved, building on French know-how, a symbol of industrial excellence and a source of employment reaching +7% a year”.

Central to the process is the well-being of the employees who work every day on the production lines. The new arrangements have really benefited the operators, with around 60 of them all working at peak times of year, increasing their safety and optimising the comfort of the workstations. This revitalisation plan involves all trades in the company, making each person responsible for his or her daily tasks, and it is also, and above all, a real team effort.

They provide real improvements in ergonomics, productivity and quality of work”.

See the video produced by PELLENC with its operators and managers:

PELLENC in figures (2017)

  • 254 M turnover, of which 159 M in exports (62.8%).
  • 13.5M invested in R&D
  • 1500 employees
  • 18 subsidiaries
  • 7 industrial sites
  • 1081 patents
  • 142 engineers
  • 50,000 customers
  • 800 distributors

Initial results are compelling, and must be sustained

The transformation of the plant has already borne fruit. While assembly times have been significantly reduced, service rates seen in the workshops are clearly improved. Production line areas have also been greatly improved. In turn, the teams involved feel better prepared and trained for the various stages of production.

Always seeking further improvements, the PELLENC group continues to innovate, to develop production even more. new innovations for the areas freed up, new workflow display and automation systems with the AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles). Changes supported by a wide-ranging training plan.