Production

Efficient production network

The Geberit Group operated 26 plants at the end of the reporting year, 22 of which are located in Europe, two in the USA, one in China and one in India. The number of plants remained unchanged compared to the previous year.

The 26 plants fall into the following three categories depending on the processed materials and production technologies:

• Ceramics (10 plants)
• Plastics & Metal (12 plants)
• Composites & Metal (4 plants)

Despite the very challenging market situation in the reporting year, an increase in productivity at the production sites of 3% was reached. This increase is achieved primarily through measures aimed at improving efficiency.

The war in Ukraine again led to a high degree of uncertainty regarding local Geberit operations. Geberit’s first priority is the safety of its employees and their families.

High investment volumes in the plants as a sign of strategic stability

As market demand was difficult to predict, a high degree of operational flexibility continued to be required. With this in mind, processes were further optimised and the energy and material efficiency increased, while investments were made in the future of the plants and their capacities for handling future growth as part of strategic stability measures.

Specialisation and automation in ceramic production

In the ceramic production network, the implementation of the specialisation strategy was continued in the reporting year. At the same time, the further automation of individual production processes was promoted. The most important projects and activities are as follows:

• Specialisation by product family was continued.
• Investments were made in process stability at various sites, leading to the reduction of scrap rates while simultaneously improving the quality of the ceramic appliances and productivity. At the same time, energy consumption was also reduced.
• Several pressure casting machines were replaced or overhauled at the Swedish plant in Bromölla.
• The automated handling of ceramics was further developed at the Polish plant in Koło.
• A new tunnel kiln with significantly improved energy efficiency was put into operation in Carregado (PT).

Additional capacities and investments in process optimisation at plastic- and metal-processing plants

In the plants where plastic and metal are processed, numerous investment projects were promoted further to provide the capacities needed in the medium and long term and to further improve the efficiency of the processes. Some of the key projects and activities included the following:

• The capacity expansion at the Lichtenstein plant (DE) was completed in the reporting year and a fully automated production line for installation elements made of strip steel was put into operation.
• At the largest production site in Pfullendorf (DE), the construction work on an additional factory building was completed; the installation work for the highly automated production lines for fill and flush valves is ongoing.
• At the plants in Pottenbrunn (AT) and Ruše (SI), production capacities for manufacturing Silent-PP and Silent-Pro fittings were expanded.
• At the plant in Givisiez (CH), a new production line for all-plastic pipes was put into operation.
• In Langenfeld (DE), the renewal of the welding machines for stainless steel was completed. Additionally, a new bending system for stainless steel fittings was put into operation and the existing annealing furnaces for stainless steel products underwent energy refurbishment and modernisation. On the production lines for medium-sized bends, work began on additional automation steps in the field of cleaning.
• In Ozorków (PL), two additional annealing furnaces for the Mapress range were put into operation for reducing lead times.
• In Pune (IN), construction work began on a plant expansion aimed at increasing production capacities in line with growth and laying the groundwork for the installation of a new production line for pipes.

Flow production principle as a guideline

All Geberit plants display an ongoing capability for renewal. Despite the diversity of the materials and production technologies used, the approach is determined uniformly: whenever appropriate, all measures for improvement are geared to the principle of flow production. Maximum efficiency and flexibility are targeted in this way, which is reflected in the reliable, timely supply of products to customers and savings in important resources such as working time and materials. The Geberit Production System (GPS 2.0) is the guideline for production processes in which the principles for efficient manufacturing are summarised.

Environmental management in production

As already mentioned, continuous improvements at the plants are aimed at increasing efficiency by saving resources. GPS 2.0 ensures that the goals associated with a continuous improvement in sustainability are also taken into account.