the imi newsletter issue 7 august 2017 · hydronic engineering: the hydronic division also made...

Critical Precision Hydronic

EngineeringGREAT the IMI Way

IMI CEO Mark Selway reports on the first six months of 2017Page 2

Precision’s Americas sites welcome Group Chairman Page 8

‘Outrunning the Competition’ Group and Divisional conference Page 25

The IMI Newsletter Issue 7 August 2017

Highlights

Highlights

Middle East orders for IMI Critical Engineering’s latest ‘Value Engineered’ HIPPS P16

All-new products launched by IMI Precision Engineering at Hannover Messe P14

IMI Precision Engineering supplies world’s lightest fittings for new trains in Queensland, AustraliaP18

‘Value Engineering’ new products increases sales at IMI Critical Engineering P7

IMI Hydronic Engineering’s New Product Development strategy is put to the vote P6

Rio’s Museum of Tomorrow benefits from IMI Hydronic Engineering’s energy-saving products and services P19

As forecast in the February edition of the IMI Eye, I am pleased to be able to report that the early signs of growth from many of our end markets have continued in the first six months of 2017 and we move into a more favourable economic environment as we head into the second half of 2017.

Due to the considerable investments that have been made and huge effort from all of our employees over the past three years, today we have a leaner, more dynamic and much more competitive business, well positioned to capitalise on the opportunities that an improving market environment will bring.

At Group level, the 2017 half-year results were marginally ahead of market expectations. We continued to make excellent progress on our actions to build competitive advantage and our continuous improvement culture is now evident across every area of our operations.

Our operational performance showed considerable progress, with a number of our businesses in all three divisions now moving toward industry-leading best practice. The benefits of that progress were again evident in the results we announced, with particularly strong cash flow and working capital improvements underpinning our first half results.

This year, our lean and health and safety initiatives have been further enhanced with the introduction of policy deployment, which has helped to prioritise our improvement objectives and align our actions to the most important business issues. In 2016, we introduced a number of customer-facing metrics into our lean scoring and benchmarking and, while we still have huge areas for improvements, it was pleasing to see real progress being made across all three divisions.

We also made further progress in our financial controls and systems and our auditors were again able to report an improved control environment across all areas of the Group. The investments being made in our IT systems and, in particular, IT security, are delivering benefits and the new peer group auditing programme, which was introduced at the start of this year, has taken the Group to an even higher level of capability. Divisionally-led audits are now assisting enormously in the transfer of best practice across our operating units.

I remain excited about the continued investment we are making in great new products and I am hugely impressed with the rigour which is being applied across

2 The IMI Newsletter Issue 7

Hydronic Engineering: The Hydronic division also made good progress in the first half of 2017 and grew revenues by 2%, when compared to the first half of 2016. It was impressive that almost £30m or 22% of first-half sales were generated from products which were launched into the market in the past three and a half years and the new over-the-counter strategy resulted in good order flow from new distributors.

Like the other two divisions, Hydronic continued its investments into its products and infrastructure, with a number of significant milestones so far this year. The launch of the Calypso, a new market-leading Thermostatic Radiator Valve, has opened customer doors and underpinned the recent success in Hydronic Engineering’s over-the-counter sales initiative. Sales of the Calypso in the first half were in excess of £2m and we are expecting further progress in the second half of the year.

The lean scores for Hydronic also showed further improvement from their already best-in-Group status and, at the same time, Peter Spencer’s team have halved lost-time injuries to just two in the year. Kan Ban and inventory pull systems allowed response time to customers to be halved and plans are in place to improve them as the year progresses. The Polish and Slovenia sites continued to lead the Group in terms of lean benchmark.

A significant highlight was the second phase of the division’s new J D Edwards ERP system roll-out, which was delivered on time and on budget in Slovenia as well as in the division’s sales offices in Romania, Hungary and Croatia. The system is now beginning to deliver huge efficiencies and roll-outs to a further twelve Hydronic sales offices will be undertaken during the remainder of 2017.

I am sure that in reading this half year review you can see the significant, continuing investment being made in the Group to improve its competitive dynamics. These investments are beginning to provide a real differentiator in the market and I want to thank all of our valued employees for their hard work and commitment to making IMI GREAT.

Mark Selway CEO IMI plc Full details of the 2017 half-year results, including the webcast of the presentation to the City, are available at www.imiplc.com/investors

all three divisions in terms of quality systems, competitor tear-down and new project procedures. These key foundations are helping us bring new, higher quality products to market faster and more cost effectively. I am absolutely convinced that our investment in this underpins our sustainable competitive advantage for the future.

Critical Engineering: As previously outlined, the price of oil and gas and global investments in power generation have a huge part to play in the development of the division´s order book. Despite the challenges in both of these industries, I am proud of the results produced by Roy Twite and his team in the first half of the year. In terms of new orders; Critical outran the majority of its competition. Improved working capital and inventory management in particular, have been major positives this year.

The division´s Value Engineering programme has continued to gather pace and helped us to significantly reduce product costs, securing almost £70m of new orders which would either have been lost to competitors or delivered unacceptable margins. The Value Engineering process is now fully embedded throughout Critical’s operations and has also helped us to grow our product offering, enabling us to enter into new, adjacent markets.

Lean scores, health and safety and core customer metrics all made significant progress in the first half of the year and I was particularly pleased to see the improvements resulting from all the hard work at IMI Bopp and Reuther starting to come through. This business has undergone a significant change since we first acquired it in January 2015 and it is a credit to all involved to see the great progress which is now being made.

In addition to product and operational investments, the division continued its programme of IFS ERP roll-outs with successful launches in the first half of 2017 in Singapore and Malaysia. IFS is now fully embedded in Critical’s operations in Korea, Japan, India, the Czech Republic, Sweden and Austria. The improved efficiencies which result from these investments are already evident and have convinced Roy to extend the roll-outs progresively to his Petrochemical businesses from 2018.

In order to respond to the slower market environment, the Critical team continued to implement their longer-term footprint rationalisation, which resulted in the closure of a number of lower growth sites and delivered £11m of profit

benefit in the half year. These projects, while difficult, will put the division in a much better competitive position for the future and ultimately place our core manufacturing footprint closer to customers and in higher growth markets.

Precision Engineering: Massimo Grassi and his team also made huge progress in the first half of the year and delivered results which were a bit stronger than market expectations. The core Class 8 truck market was better than anticipated in the Americas and Asia and despite contract completions in Europe, we delivered some growth from this sector.

Industrial Automation, which represents almost 50% of the division’s sales, also showed good progress with excellent results in Asia, particularly China, combining with improved market conditions in North America and Europe to deliver 3% growth in this sector.

The division’s launch of a terrific range of new platform products at the Hannover Fair in April represented the first new products to be delivered in over a decade. These products were initially designed to harness the declining revenue base of our Industrial Automation activities and the excitement which they have generated, both internally and externally, is a credit to Massimo and his team. A significant pipeline of great new products is in the works across all our core sectors.

Excellent progress in improving our operating performance continued, with world-class ranking now within the sights of many Precision operations. While the majority of key measures showed good progress in the first half, including scrap reduction and improved plant efficiencies, considerable effort is still required to reduce lead times and improve on time delivery to our customers. The division’s most recent appointments of Supply Chain leaders in North America and Europe are key to achieving improved performances in these areas.

In addition to the product and operational investments, the division successfully launched its J D Edwards ERP system across its core Norgren North American operations. The painstaking task of standardising core business processes and improving the accuracy of core business data are the next essential steps to delivering a world-class and integrated IT solution for the whole of Precision Engineering.

Our Asian operations also delivered some great new products and benefitted from the improved economic conditions which significantly grew their sales and profits.

Continuous improvements in every area of our operations are beginning to provide a real differentiator in the market...

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Critical Precision HydronicCritical Precision Hydronic

Within the Critical division our policy of continuous improvement is leading to far greater business efficiencies, not just in operations and new product development, but also increasingly across every aspect of our businesses, including customer facing.

An example of this is at our facility in Paju, South Korea where the Obeya project management tool, originally introduced in 2015, has now been extended into the Sales and RFQ (request for quote) processes and value stream mapping (VSM) has been carried out for financial processes. This technique is clearly helping with customer service and IMI CCI Korea’s on-time delivery is now consistently around 99%. In the May lean assessment, where the site scored 80%, it was also noted that there had been no lost time accidents for 2,306 days (over six years) and that the cost of quality had improved. The site’s productivity had also improved by 26.6% compared with the

Taking continuous improvement to new heights

WRITTEN BY Nick Rowson-JonesLean & HSE DirectorIMI Critical Engineering

Lean techniques employed at IMI Precision Engineering in Alpen have delivered phenomenal benefits for both the business and our customers. Daily output at the ISO cylinder cell – now named the ‘Quick Response Cell’ – has increased by 346%, with on-time delivery to customers up by 6% and rising.

Changes were made at the cell to reduce costs and lead times. A reliable production system was imperative to guarantee same-day shipments of Precision’s new ISOLine™ cylinder which is assembled at the cell as part of a wider product range, including some made to order.

The need for change became even more urgent – and complex – earlier this year when we agreed to support our sister site at Brno in the Czech Republic by temporarily taking over its order book for ISO cylinders. That meant dramatically improving the TAKT process time at the Alpen cell by a huge margin in order to increase capacity by up to 400%.

A lean team from the tooling and manufacturing departments got to work quickly. They spent a day analysing and calculating what needed to be done. On the following two days, a weekend, they organised the fixtures and tools needed to cope with the increased volume. Two shift teams were introduced and they commenced production on the Monday.

Following analysis of the updated production system and feedback from the cell operators in Kaizen events, ergonomic improvements were made to the Quick Response Cell layout.

Teamwork boosts performance at Quick Response CellWRITTEN BY Torsten Norff Operations Director, AlpenIMI Precision Engineering

Work content distribution in the cell was also optimised. The lean team then implemented introduced daily supply chain meetings and Heijunka so that level loading of the cell could be visualised.

Within just two weeks, the capacity of the cell was stepped up incrementally to meet market demand for 450 cylinders per day; an increase in output of 346%, with TAKT time down by 72% to 1.7 minutes. Other significant benefits include a 46% reduction in shop floor stock levels and improved on-time delivery to customers.

Lean team member, Werner Zimmermann said, “Due to the excellent engagement of the cell’s operational team, and the new cell design according to lean principles, we are now able to react very fast and flexibly to fulfil our customer requirements.”

Operator at the Quick Response Cell in Alpen

previous year. IMI CCI Korea is now well on the way to being a world-class facility and is the highest scoring site within the division.

IMI Critical Engineering India has used lean techniques, the Value Engineering process, and localisation of the supply chain to reduce the production cost of boiler start-up valves. Nick Adcock, President of IMI CCI and IMI Bopp & Reuther said, “The team generated 104 ideas and 2 design concepts for each type of valve. This excellent work by our India team has greatly improved our competitiveness and will open up the India and China markets for boiler valves.”

Not to miss out, in China at our Qingpu facility on the outskirts of Shanghai, we used spaghetti diagrams – part of the IMI lean toolkit, to refine the layout of the assembly floor for heavy valves, freeing up space for production of new products. The spaghetti diagram process also resulted in a 30% reduction in product travel distances.


business improvement

Despite making incredible progress on our lean journey, there’s always more we can do. A delegation of plant managers and lean champions from Hydronic paid a visit to Japan in March to learn from the recognised world leaders and understand what ‘really good’ looks like.

In a busy five days, the delegation visited eight different manufacturing facilities, including Toyota, Nissan and Panasonic, as well as attending six lectures presented by Toyota lean experts. It provided a chance to experience first-hand the world’s best lean performers and use the lessons learned to benchmark how we will progress our lean project in the future.

Seeing lean principles applied to their fullest extent proved to be an eye-opening and worthwhile experience. The delegation also learned valuable lessons through observing cultural differences and the trip provided delegates with real insight into how lean can be best applied to our own working practices.

Learning from the Masters – Japan visit highlights lean best practiceWRITTEN BY Alberto TureikisLean Division DirectorIMI Hydronic Engineering, Erwitte

“The companies we visited have shown that they really do live and breathe lean in every aspect of their work,” said Tomas Lovrin, Plant Manager for IMI Hydronic Engineering, Slovenia, “it’s interwoven with the culture and encourages people to do better in all they do, not just in their working lives, but throughout society. We’ve learned many valuable lessons”.

Arriving at Nissan’s manufacturing plant at Tochigi in Japan

Recognising the opportunity that expiring Microsoft agreements in the Critical and Precision divisions presented IMI, the process to establish a global IMI agreement commenced at the start of 2016. Global Procurement and IT leaders worked closely together to review all legacy Microsoft licensing and assess the range of cloud-based products and services available from Microsoft.

Establishing a global Microsoft agreement for IMI - GREAT collaboration between IT and ProcurementWRITTEN BY Douglas FryeGlobal IT Category Manager IMI Precision Engineering

Patrick Roxbee CoxIT Director IMI Critical Engineering

and

In pursuing this business outcome, the team established that the majority of Microsoft engagement and license purchasing was conducted at a business unit level. This was making it extremely difficult to manage software assets and compliance across the Group, as well as missing a significant opportunity for usto leverage our combined purchasing power with Microsoft.

Through productive collaboration between the IT and Procurement teams, we have systematically matured our relationship with Microsoft, moving to a simplified engagement model and a unified commercial agreement. This transformation has not only helped to reduce operational costs, but has also improved our ability to proactively manage our installed asset base, standardise our desktop capabilities and maintain license compliance.


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Critical Precision Hydronicbusiness improvement


Emerging industry trends for smart connected devices and sensor technology are heavily impacting the HVAC sector and consequently the new product development pipeline. A Strategy and NPD (New Product Development) workshop, held at the Hydronic College, Eysins, Switzerland, examined recent developments to help define a strategy to capitalise on new and exciting opportunities.

Day 1 of the workshop brought together 25 colleagues from all functional areas - the Executive team and Mark Leonard, IMI plc Senior M&A Integration Manager - to review our growth strategy and identify how emerging industry trends would affect the need to gradually accelerate the move into the ‘connected’ market. In addition to industry developments, participants also discussed the importance of the growing OEM business and evaluated potential opportunities to accelerating growth in existing and new markets.

Day 2 focused more specifically on NPD activities, Julie Minnell, IMI plc Corporate Projects Manager, explained the roll out of the new product development process in IMI Precision Engineering and stressed how important the sharing of best

Plans to increase investment in new products developed at two-day Hydronic workshopWRITTEN BY Louis BenoistonMarket Research Analyst IMI Hydronic Engineering, Eysins

Attendees voting to prioritize product opportunities

Louis Benoiston presents the NPI survey results

practice across the whole IMI Group will be for our success.

The highlight of the session was the lively discussion brought on by the 23 new products presented by the Heads of Product Management, Norbert Ramser, Klaus-Dieter Fuhrmann and Eric Bernadou. Together with the R&D Team they outlined the product development opportunities for the coming years in terms of sales opportunities and market attractiveness.

Participants were then given the opportunity to choose NPD priorities by voting on products using a dynamic voting system of yellow, red and green cards. After some tough questioning and lively discussion, ten products received a ‘green light’ with a further six receiving preliminary ‘green lights’ dependent upon additional investigation.

Participants agreed that it was a fantastic opportunity to learn more about emerging industry trends and how we can effectively respond to this new environment. As Kieran Griffin, IMI Hydronic Head of Engineering said, “These cross-functional workshops play a critical role in enabling us to effectively develop new products and technologies for the short, medium and long term.”

“It was a great event, I was particularly enthusiastic about the strong focus on accelerating growth, customer-centricity, and collaborative teamwork. We have all the ingredients to outrun our competitors and transform the business for the future.” said Ronald Balder, Head of Strategic Customer Developments.

The IMI Newsletter Issue 76

A ‘Customer Service’ project is delivering a marked improvement in service and helping Precision move closer to its vision of a ‘zero defects’ culture. The project aims to improve responsiveness to customer complaints and have a positive effect on ‘Net Promotor Score’ (an index that measures customers’ willingness to recommend a company’s products and services to others).

We launched Phase 1 of the project, focusing on UK customer complaints, last summer and have already seen a 60% reduction in the average time taken to resolve returned goods issues. A backlog of outstanding returns has also been cut by around 65%.

Teamwork delivers improved customer service

WRITTEN BY Jeremy Hill Head of Quality, Europe IMI Precision Engineering

Cross-functional teamwork involving colleagues from Customer Service, the European Distribution Centre (EDC) and manufacturing sites, has been key to the success to date. Using ‘8D’ methodology to manage problems through to resolution, the team has analysed data on customer service issues and worked closely together to introduce improvements.

Data on product quality issues is also being analysed to identify any trends and repetitive problems so that improvements can be made in design or manufacture, supporting efforts towards our zero defects goal.

Awaiss Mirza, Global Sales Efficiency Manager said, “The project team is making the best possible use of data on customer issues so that we can improve our service.

Improvements have been made to the way in which data is logged so that we capture more information. Better cross-function communication, clear ownership and a shared focus on customer issues are also proving important in stepping up our service levels.”

Phase 2 of the ‘Customer Service’ project is now underway and is being implemented across all of Precision’s European manufacturing sites and customer service offices. It involves deeper-dive analysis of technical, quality and logistical issues so that root causes of problems are identified and engineered out. The project will also be rolled out across Asia Pacific and the Americas as part of ongoing efforts to improve customer satisfaction.

Since the oil price fell from $140 to less than $60 per barrel there have been far fewer projects available in the market and every one of our competitors is chasing the few available projects.

In this intense environment, we have focused on self-help and on greatly improving our competitiveness – with particular emphasis on Value Engineering.

IMI Critical Engineering’s Global Value Engineering Manager David Powell-Wiffen, who moved across from the Precision division to Critical in order to accelerate the programme said, “The team work has been incredible, we currently have over 50 new product and Value Engineering projects running across the division and expect to reduce costs by between 15 and 20% on specific projects.”

The results have been dramatic. In the first quarter of 2017 we were awarded more than £40m of new orders that would not have generated acceptable margins without the Value Engineering process. The improved competitiveness is helping both our customers and ourselves to respond to the pressures of a very tough market place.

Critical ‘Value Engineers’ £40m of order wins in the first quarterWRITTEN BY Mike Semens-FlanaganDirector Strategic PlanningIMI Critical Engineering

The IMI CCI team in Korea undertaking the tear down as part of the new 840GS development

The IMI CCI team in India for the boiler feedwater valve workshop

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HS&E experts from Critical, Precision and Hydronic’s German operations tour the Erwitte site

Safety in numbers – German IMI network established to share knowledge

WRITTEN BY Oliver SchneiderHead of HSEIMI Hydronic Engineering, Erwitte

Health, Safety and the Environment (HS&E) are taken extremely seriously throughout the IMI Group. Erwitte, along with colleagues from Critical and Precision operations in Germany, has recently established a network to improve how we share crucial knowledge and best practice advice.

Ten HS&E experts from all three IMI divisions across Germany gathered together in late March at our Erwitte facility. It proved to be the ideal forum to get to know each other and pass on vital knowledge and experience. They discovered that although there are already solutions to many of the issues we face within the business, the real challenge is sharing and harmonising that knowledge for the good of the business as a whole.

Following discussions around many common HS&E problems – and potential solutions – the group committed to working collaboratively to help solve them. Working groups focusing on particular topics are due to be established soon. It’s hoped that further close engagement with both the network and colleagues will serve to motivate others to share best practice and facilitate knowledge-transfer much more effectively.

Christian Kloos-Vollmer, IMI Precision Engineering, Buschjost said, “It’s been great to connect. We’ve learned from each other and we can all only improve further.”

Earlier this summer, we welcomed Lord Smith, Chairman of the Board and Massimo Grassi, IMI Precision Engineering Divisional Managing Director, to the Americas region. The purpose was to introduce Lord Smith to the Americas Leadership Team, and to visit our Americas headquarters in Littleton, Colorado, and the production site in Queretaro, Mexico.

My team had the opportunity to share the work we are doing in the verticals and functional areas.

Industrial Automation explained that we are growing market share by reconnecting with our distribution channel and new product development (NPD). The In-Plant Automotive vertical celebrated their hard work to develop and grow our large share of the market. Life Sciences vertical demonstrated how collaboration within the team is delivering significant improvements, putting it in a unique position to outrun the competition.

The Commercial Vehicle vertical described that in the Americas, IMI Precision Engineering is a small player in a big market. By teaming up with key

Chairman visits IMI Precision Engineering sites in the Americas

WRITTEN BY Ryan Schroeder Regional Managing Director Americas IMI Precision Engineering

manufacturers in the industry, with our reputation for work ethic, product quality and ability to meet customer needs despite demanding regulation, the team is performing well to the extent that this year is looking better than previously expected.

Lord Smith and Massimo also went on a site tour and visited the functional team areas to see first-hand the great opportunity we have for growth at this site.

From Littleton, we then travelled to Queretaro in Mexico. This was an opportunity to showcase the considerable work being undertaken on our lean transformation, and on safety and production improvements.

Queretaro has faced some economic and political challenges in the past. However, the economy is improving at a better rate than expected with the government appearing more stable than before and, the Peso has recently strengthened in sympathy. The lean score for the facility is currently 72%, which is on target but still improving. The site has also achieved a ‘Quality Audit’ score of 85.6%.

I am proud of the team in the Americas and was very happy to have the opportunity to welcome Lord Smith and Massimo to our facilities. I am confident about the work we are doing now and the opportunities we have ahead of us!

Lord Smith and Massimo Grassi touring the production floor in Queretaro, Mexico


Our mission is to make great products that help our customers meet today’s HVAC challenges – and now the hard work has been acknowledged with three prestigious industry awards!

Innovating the products our customers demand lies at the heart of what we do at IMI Hydronic Engineering. We responded to the rising popularity of surface heating applications by developing the next generation of underfloor heating manifolds: the Dynacon Eclipse, featuring our unique Automatic Flow Control (AFC) technology. It’s an innovative solution that helps bring unparalleled control and simplified balancing capabilities to the underfloor heating market – a fact recognised with both a prestigious Design Plus award and a Plus X award!

The Design Plus award is a quality label that recognises innovative design, energy efficiency and future-proof technologies. A panel of seven expert judges singled out the Dynacon Eclipse among 154 submissions for its design quality, innovative use of technology and overall contribution to sustainability. It took

Industry experts recognise Hydronic’s award-winning innovationsWRITTEN BY Christina PlesserMarketing Assistant IMI Hydronic Engineering, Erwitte

pride of place in the Design Plus area during the recent ISH 2017 exhibition in Frankfurt.

The product development team; Designer Carina Schlüter, Product Manager, Klaus-Dieter Fuhrmann and Bernhard Henke, R&D Manager in Erwitte, were on hand to receive the award and were delighted to learn that the Dynacon Eclipse had scooped a Plus X Award too. The Plus X award is the world’s largest innovation award for technology, sports and lifestyle and was initiated to strengthen brands and enable consumers to make an informed choice about the very latest technologies. It focuses on innovation, high quality and functionality and the Dynacon Eclipse was judged to be a ‘unique technology’ that’s outstanding in all three fields.

Carina Schlüter said, “I’m proud to be part of the team behind the design of the Dynacon Eclipse. These awards are an independent confirmation of what our customers have been telling us all along – that the unique AFC technology makes their jobs simpler and easier.”

Design Plus award prize ceremony at ISH 2017 in Frankfurt – Carina Schlüter & Klaus-Dieter Fuhrmann in the centre

Dynacon Eclipse with Design Plus and Plus X Award

And that’s not all; our ground-breaking, digitally-configurable actuator TA Slider 160, also received a Plus X award for innovation in three categories, high quality, ease of use and functionality. The Plus X awards were officially announced at a ceremony in June.

Healthy sales and a wealth of positive feedback meant we already knew that customers love our latest innovations – with three prestigious awards under our belt, it’s now perfectly clear that industry experts do too.

IBM has recognised IMI’s achievements in streamlining our financial reporting processes by using IMI as a best practice case study.

During 2016, IMI and IBM partnered to improve the Group’s financial and operational reporting software, Cognos, to optimise its performance and to help accelerate the production of our reporting.

IBM recognises IMI’s accelerated financial reporting

WRITTEN BY Luke Grant Chief Management Accountant IMI plc

The delivery of the project has enabled IMI to:

l significantly reduce manual input processes in our reporting saving businesses around 2-3 hours a month;

l consistently produce operational reporting 3 days earlier every month; and

l reduce support costs by 10% as we have increased technical knowledge within the Group.

The project included both the simplification of an existing reporting tool, Cognos Controller, and the implementation of a new reporting tool called Cognos TM1 which is helping to drive faster and more accurate reporting across the Group.

Anja Duerden, IBM Analytics Manager commented, “The IBM team is very proud to be collaborating with such strong advocates for achieving a truly well implemented IBM Financial and Operational Performance Management Solution.”

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A problem-solving project, called ‘Share and Grow’, has been successfully completed at the IMI Precision Engineering site at Fellbach. Using lean tools, the initiative has delivered improved quality and significant cost savings.

The project was launched across the business in February. Two teams were established and their first hurdle was to accurately define their respective problem and present it to each other. Scrap cost reduction is one of the main challenges for 2017, so each team was asked to define a scrap-related problem.

Over three months, the teams met regularly to work on root cause analysis. During this crucial phase they were coached in problem-solving techniques including 5-Why, Ishikawa, Kepne-Tregoe and fault tree analysis. This was a particularly challenging period for the teams – normally they would have used their own experience to solve problems as opposed to concentrating on the root causes of the issue.

Regular review meetings were a key factor in the success of this project. They allowed the teams to present their progress and to learn and take inspiration

‘Share and Grow’ delivers improved quality and reduction in scrap costs at FellbachWRITTEN BY Anthony Brown, Operations Manager IMI Precision Engineering Fellbach

Putting their A3 problem-solving technique into practice are L-R: Oliver Rieger, Haluk Macit, Jens Wetzel, Aleksander Jelusic and Christian Reetz

from each other about how problem-solving techniques could be successfully utilised.

Later in the project, the A3 problem-solving approach was introduced with the teams capturing their entire journey on a single A3 sheet, from problem definition, through root cause analysis to implementing and confirming corrective actions.

We are all very proud of what the teams have achieved and the first phase of Share and Grow has already delivered real benefits. First part yield has increased from 97% to a stable 99%, bringing a significant annual reduction in the cost of scrap.

Haluk Macit, Team Leader in Machining, took part in Share and Grow. He said, “At the start of this project, I saw it as a massive challenge. But now I am excited by what we are doing and can see it will bring big benefits for both me and the company.”

A third challenging project has since been introduced in machining at Fellbach where Share and Grow was also extended to the assembly area in May.

David Hurst, Lean and Process Improvement Director said, “Share and Grow is proving to be a very successful model for introducing people to lean techniques. By sharing their learning and presenting their findings to management, our teams are growing in confidence in their ability to solve problems.”


Finance staff from all three IMI divisions that have operations in Germany have been meeting twice a year since 2012 to collaborate, exchange best practices and receive training in finance and tax matters.

At the end of April 2017 the first of the year’s ‘Best Finance Practices’ meetings was hosted at IMI Precision Engineering, Alpen, and was attended by more than 15 Financial Controllers and Finance Directors from most of IMI’s sites in Germany.

Sally McKone, IMI Group Financial Controller, and Peter Mason, IMI Group Tax Director, also contributed as guests at the meeting by presenting Group topics. The meeting agenda was packed with financial and tax updates, the introduction of the new German PwC tax team, Frango Controller update, and an extensive interactive training discussion on VAT.

The next meeting is planned for the end of the third quarter of 2017 at IMI Z&J in Düren, part of the IMI Critical Engineering division.

Best Finance Practices meetings in GermanyWRITTEN BY Daniela ScheidstegerFinance Director Industrial Automation Europe IMI Precision Engineering

Finance colleagues from all three divisions meet in Germany to share best practice


In line with our strategy to double product sales into power stations, IMI CCI has launched a new control valve range named the 840GS Series. Increasingly, customers expect us to provide a full range of valves to complement their turbine bypass systems and the 840GS is the answer to that need. The new control valve is targeted at water and steam service applications for boiler systems, heater systems and balance of plant (BOP) applications.

As the result of a collaboration project within our division, which included full use of our Value Engineering and Value Analysis process, the new product range is very competitive. Quality has also been built into the production process by our IMI CCI Korea team who have used lean error-proofing techniques to ensure the

New control valves are key to doubling sales in power stations

WRITTEN BY Richard YuBusiness Development Director IMI Critical Engineering, APAC

Collaborative approach boosts Slovenia’s lean score to world-class

WRITTEN BY Tomas Lovrin Plant Manager IMI Hydronic Engineering, Slovenia

Slovenia’s lean team discussing the improved machine layouts, L-R: Aleš Dvornik, Tomas Lovrin, Mario Kos, Robert Ko, Fredi Mervar, and Andrej Marlin

Cardboard engineering helps the team visualise the ideal machine layout

Our Slovenia operation has become the latest Hydronic facility to receive a world-class lean score – achieving a phenomenal 88% following a recent assessment.

Continuous improvement is what lean is all about and our Brežice factory employees have put in a huge collaborative effort to optimise processes throughout 2016 and into 2017. Particular attention has been paid to production levelling, material flow optimisation, HS&E and inventory management. Most importantly, however, all 50 employees fully engaged with the process and contributed to the achievement.

Clearly defining and visualising priorities and targets was the first step on the lean road. Restructuring the machine layout helped achieve significant improvements in material flow, optimising the use of Kanbans reduced stock levels and an Avix digital tool was deployed to help standardise work processes and streamline production levelling.

Alberto Tureikis, Global Lean Transformation Director said, “It was extremely satisfying to discover so many great activities and actions implemented throughout the factory. The team has really excelled during this lean implementation and we’re looking forward to making further improvements in 2017.”

products are always correctly assembled to meet the highest leakage standards. IMI STI were also part of the team, and, in record time, developed a new integrated compact smart positioner, called FasTrak Compact. This new positioner provides excellent performance while still being incredibly cost competitive.

Our lean experts have also been improving the production and supply chain processes resulting in outstanding products that can now be offered with unparalled lead times.

The 840GS is the first in a series of optimised control valve ranges that is enhancing our industry-leading position, and with more new products in the pipeline for the oil & gas and petrochemical markets, our ambitious sales growth target is now more than achievable. 840GS valve

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IMI CCI Japan has launched an exciting new range of turbine-bypass and steam-conditioning valves called the AB6350 series. The products have been specifically designed for use in small Combined Heat and Power plants. The new valve range is ideally suited to biomass power plants, where the market is growing globally as the world moves increasingly to sustainable energy sources.

New range of valves target renewable energy marketWRITTEN BY Maureen TanMarketing Director, APACIMI Critical Engineering

A cut-away view of the new AB6350 valve from IMI CCI Japan

The AB6350 series is compact and flexible, easy to assemble and maintain and designed to extend its usable life even in the most critical applications. The product was developed using our specialist knowledge and computer simulation tools, built on many years’ experience supplying steam desuperheating valves to the market.

The AB6350 series is suitable for use in a wide range of smaller power and industrial process plants including biomass plants, paper processing plants, as well as chemical, steel, cement and food processing plants.

More than 30 IMI Precision Engineering colleagues from five European countries, met in April with a common goal of building a single, strong European Manufacturing team. The two-day meeting focused on a collaborative approach and lean principles as we take important steps towards finally combining our Western and Continental Europe teams.

This was our common ‘European Operations/Quality & Lean’ meeting – following on from an inaugural meeting at Brno in the Czech Republic in February. The second meeting was held at IMI Precision Engineering’s Fellbach site in Germany where participants were given an on-site tour by Lean Champion, Inga Stephan and her team.

Fellbach has extensive experience and a long history in producing valves (control and proportional valve technology) for verticals such as Industrial Automation and Commercial Vehicles. Besides R&D, production facilities and engineering services, the site hosts CV prototype facilities and an advanced testing centre.

Torsten Norff, Operations Director Alpen, attended the meeting to share learning from the site’s successful implementation of lean principles at its Quick Response Cell

‘One Europe, One Team’WRITTEN BY Bernhard Ruser Manufacturing Director EuropeIMI Precision Engineering

Colleagues at the ‘One Europe, One Team’ operations meeting at Alpen

for ISO cylinder assembly. It was a great example of what we can achieve through our lean journey.

Sessions on day two of the meeting were held in the inspiring industrial heritage environment of an ancient foundry brickwork building. Main targets during these sessions were to put Board directives into practice, align key performance indicators (KPIs) across our European operations and to discuss quality issues. There was also problem-solving training for all participants.

Improvement of on-time delivery (OTD) was also on the agenda. As a result of the first meeting in Brno, we had already improved our OTD performance. But we agreed in Fellbach that there is still scope for improvement as we continually strive for excellence. Our next meeting will therefore focus on further OTD improvements as well as team building, problem-solving and the outlooks for Q3 and Q4.

David Hurst, Lean and Process Improvement Director, was at the meeting and commented, “This has been an excellent activity to strengthen us on our journey to a ‘One Europe, One team’ organisation. The site tour and subjects on the agenda have provided inspiration and are helping us to build a collaborative approach. We are developing an even stronger team culture – and that is key to our future success.”


Developed by MIT Sloan School of Management, the Beer Distribution Game has nothing to do with a great night out. It’s designed to demonstrate key principles of supply chain management and proved invaluable during a recent workshop held as part of the ongoing Forecast Accuracy Improvement Project.

Ian Morris, Supply Chain and Projects Director for IMI Hydronic Engineering, started the project with an all-day workshop in Krakow, Poland. Its aim was to improve our ability to provide an accurate forecast from a current score of 60% to 80%. Representatives from the Supply Chain team, Plant Managers, European Sales representatives and the Lean Business Improvement team used the Beer Game primarily to illustrate the impact of demand amplification, in the absence of an accurate and visible forecast.

The Beer Distribution Game is designed to help participants see for themselves how competing supply chain pressures impact the ability to fulfil customer demand. Players are banned from communicating verbally to mimic the ‘real life’ situation of how ‘poor system understanding’ and ‘poor communication,’ even in

Beers all round helps improve sales forecast accuracy WRITTEN BY Manuel Ruiz

Business Improvement ManagerIMI Hydronic Engineering

an ideal supply chain, can impact negatively on the capacity to fulfil orders effectively.

It helped everyone understand the importance of accurate forecasting, how to support level loading of plants properly and identify areas for further improvement, based on tried and tested lean principles. The interactive nature of the Beer Game helped the cross-functional teams build not just a closer working relationship, but a greater understanding of the potential root causes impacting forecast accuracy.

The lean tool, ‘5 Whys’, an analytical technique of determining real root causes and defining solutions to any given business problem, was then used to highlight where improvements can be made. The findings from the workshop will now be incorporated into the Forecast Accuracy Improvement Project implementation plan to help streamline processes.

“Being able to forecast demand accurately has a significant impact in supporting proper resource allocation, factory utilisation and product availability,” said Ian Morris, “it’s a key way of ensuring we can consistently achieve on-time deliveries and increase customer satisfaction.”

At IMI Precision Engineering, India we have developed a new, concise model for order processing that will be faster and much more efficient. The lean benchmarking model, now in its final implementation phase, was developed by lean and cross-functional leaders and should reduce order processing lead times from 2.25 days to 0.75 days.

Led by the Customer Service team with support from other functions including production, inventory, sales, new product development and business process, the project began by mapping the current state of order processing. This highlighted that there were multiple steps and approval points in a long, manual process. We recognised that the process was error-prone and exposed to factors that could halt or delay order acknowledgement.

The next step was to identify and examine potential improvements – taking proactive steps to reduce the complexity of the process. Non-value adding steps have been removed. More automation has also been introduced, reducing the required

Delivery lead-times cut by two-thirds with updated order processing systemWRITTEN BY Rajni Gupta General Manager OperationsIMI Precision Engineering, India

Working to improve order processing are (L-R) Rajiv Tripathi, Vishal Chopra, Amit Asthana, Kuldeep Bhan, Subroto Bose, Rajni Gupta, Ashish Kumar, Sumit Gulati and Hitesh Saini

number of approval points and allowing the process to run continuously, efficiently and faster.

The new process reduces the customer response time and, because it is much less prone to error, it reduces the end-to-end time for execution of orders as per customer requirements.

Ruupesh Chugh, General Manager Sales India, IMI Precision Engineering said, “The thorough work done by the Customer

Service team is another very positive step in our journey to improving customer satisfaction and showing customers how much we value them. This initiative clearly demonstrates that we are committed to driving excellence in customer service and developing a culture which is customer-focused. We believe that this proactive approach will yield positive feedback from our customers and help to strengthen our relationships with them.”

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customer focus

Showcasing new products at Hannover Messe 2017WRITTEN BY Mark Stevens Marketing and Customer Experience Director IMI Precision Engineering

With around 225,000 visitors, the five-day Hannover Messe trade show in April was the perfect place for IMI Precision Engineering to launch four new products including our first entirely new product platforms in a decade.

There were three new pneumatic product platforms on display at the stand – ISOLine™, Excelon® Plus and a new generation of valve islands with PROFINET IRT and EtherNet/IP.

The ISOLine™ pneumatic actuator range offers a ‘fit and forget’ system that simplifies installation, increases service life and reduces maintenance costs. IMI Norgren Excelon® Plus is a modular range of air preparation equipment that offers great performance and is compact and lightweight. IMI Norgren VS18/26 modular valve islands now also include PROFINET IRT and EtherNet/IP, giving users the versatility to choose the features they need with the modularity to easily expand and add accessories.

Also launched was a new generation of flange valves from IMI Buschjost, robust enough to withstand surges in back pressure through a simple and compact construction.

Several groups of investors were welcomed onto Precision’s stand by Mark Selway, Chief Executive, Massimo Grassi, Precision’s Divisional Managing Director, and John Dean, Head of Investor Relations. In addition to exploring the hands-on product displays, the investors also learned

about the new IMI Norgren Express® App, which provides maintenance repair and service engineers with a quicker solution when sourcing replacement parts whilst on-site.

Like other visitors to the stand, the investors were fascinated by our ‘marvellous machine’ which provided a fabulous centrepiece. It incorporated moving parts from Precision’s product range such as pneumatic actuators and valve islands, and was built especially for Hannover Messe. Inspired by a design from IMI Precision Engineering Fellbach employee, Fabien Heimann, the machine was built in the UK by apprentices at Fradley. (Further details on page 26 )

Massimo Grassi commented, “We had always planned to unveil our new products here on the grand stage of

Hannover Messe 2017. We’ve achieved that goal thanks to two years of focused work by our dedicated teams in engineering, manufacturing, sales and marketing.”

“Our journey here has been a challenging and exciting one. We’ve had very positive feedback from customers, investors and the media to the recent engineering achievements showcased on our stand – and to the work that’s gone into them. The unveiling of our new, advanced products is positive proof that our investment in lean is paying dividends and that we’ve reached a major milestone in our five-year strategic plan. The display has had a real impact on everyone visiting our stand. People from all around the world have seen what IMI Precision Engineering has to offer and how we can offer excellent value through our products and services.”

Mark Selway CEO (left) and John Dean, Head of Investor Relations addressing investors

Micheal Balducci demonstrates the new IMI Buschjost flange valve

Bernward Sprünken demonstrates the new Excelon Plus Filter, Regulator Lubricator Unit


Close engagement with customers is crucial to our Over-the-Counter (OTC) marketing strategy. Sharing with those customers our extensive industry know-how through seminars is proving to be a big hit in the Netherlands, helping to boost both customer relations and sales.

Knowledge-sharing is one of the most effective ways to highlight our capabilities and our Netherlands Sales Team are going the extra mile to ensure that wholesalers, heating equipment manufacturers and, OTC customers know all about the benefits of our products.

Over the past two years, more than 2,000 people have attended free-of-charge training seminars to learn more about how Eclipse and other IMI He products can simplify hydronic balancing, help increase energy efficiency and reduce wear and tear

Sharing our know-how boosts the bottom lineWRITTEN BY Gerrit van DoornHead of SalesIMI Hydronic Engineering, The Netherlands

on critical HVAC components like pumps and boilers. Account Managers have been working closely with wholesalers and suppliers of other HVAC components across the country, to spread the word with a series of evening seminars about how our solutions can deliver real benefits and increase sales.

On average, 25 people attend each seminar, with as many as 50 showing up on occasion and each event represents a fantastic opportunity to strengthen the critical relationship with our customers. It has proved to be a very effective method of building a strong network with smaller installers, housing associations (more than 25,000 eclipse valves have been installed by 7 housing associations) and the wholesalers that stock our products.

The seminars cover a range of topics, from highlighting how Eclipse and other IMI He products can improve energy efficiency, to sharing the essential know-how our customers need to overcome today’s HVAC challenges. And there’s a bottom-line benefit too. OTC sales in the region are

outstripping overall growth in the sector, illustrating that once customers learn about our solutions, they’re quick to see the benefits and invest in our products.

“Our free-to-attend seminars are a great way to build strong relationships with our customers,” said Bert van der Pij, “the latest event was a great evening with a full house. People were really enthusiastic about what they could learn. We’ve made a lot of new friends for our products.”

OTC Account Manager, Ed Ytsma shares essential HVAC know-how with seminar attendees

IMI Truflo Marine has secured an order for the supply of isolation valves on the new class of Dreadnought nuclear submarines being commissioned by the Royal Navy. The £41 billion programme aims to replace the ageing Vanguard class of ballistic missile submarines with the new Dreadnought submarines and maintain the UK’s continuous ‘at sea’ nuclear deterrent.

The order for a range of specialist engineered-to-order isolation valves was placed by BAE after IMI Truflo Marine applied the IMI Value Engineering process to create a very competitive bid.

Dreadnought is a name with huge historical significance in the UK’s naval history, having been carried by nine ships, including ships that repelled the Spanish Armada and fought in the Battle of Trafalgar. It was also the name given to the UK’s first ever nuclear submarine.

IMI Truflo Marine applies Value Engineering to win new order for nuclear submarines WRITTEN BY Lewis Neilson

Sales Director IMI Truflo Marine

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customer focus

IMI CCI has won a significant order for a High Integrity Pressure Protection System (HIPPS) for the HASBAH II Oil & Gas field off the coast of Saudi Arabia.

In an extremely tough Oil & Gas market, we faced fierce competition not only from known HIPPS suppliers, but also from other valve and actuation companies.

Technical expertise secures major HIPPS order in the Middle EastWRITTEN BY Stefano MalacridaDirector Marketing & Business Development IMI CCI Europe

Our team demonstrated their differentiating expertise in the design of HIPPS, in the associated control logic and algorithms, and in our knowledge of safety levels and requirements for HIPPS systems. We combined this expertise with a Value Engineering workshop that allowed significant savings to be identified that could be passed on to the customer, helping us to secure the order whilst still delivering acceptable margins. Winning this multi-million pound contract has demonstrated our ‘best-in-class’ status - helping reduce risk and emissions by supplying smarter integrated solutions that provide the customer with a more reliable operation.

IMI CCI Korea has beaten an incredible list of companies to be named Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction’s ‘Supplier of the Year 2017’. This fantastic achievement has been recognised with the presentation of a Special Recognition Award by IMI’s Chairman, Lord Smith of Kelvin.

IMI CCI Korea had an established relationship with Doosan, which was strengthened in 2016 by a contract to supply turbine bypass solutions to a pioneering underground power plant which

IMI CCI Korea named ‘Supplier of the Year’ by Doosan WRITTEN BY Maureen TanMarketing Director, APAC IMI Critical Engineering

Doosan is constructing in Seoul. It is believed to be the first power station to be built underneath a city centre, allowing the ground-level site to be used for public facilities, including a park. When it comes into commercial operation it will supply electricity to 800,000 households and heating to 100,000 households across Seoul. Our excellent references, reputation for top quality advice and technical support, and ability to combine two projects to reduce engineering and administration costs, contributed to the contract win.

CD Suh, MD of IMI CCI Korea said, “This customer award is a result of all our employees’ efforts in pushing ‘Good to

Great’ and building a world-class lean factory. I am very proud of all our employees.”

The Korean team accepted their Special Recognition Award at the Group conference in May. Mark Selway, IMI CEO added, “I couldn’t be more proud of this achievement. Our Korean team are exceptional and my personal congratulations go to the entire organisation.”

Assembled HIPPS skid unit for testing

Jin Han Chung (middle) and Jackie Hu (right) collect the special recognition award from Lord Smith on behalf of IMI CCI Korea


We’re ramping up our presence in the over-the-counter (OTC) market and a ‘speed dating’ exercise with customers is helping drive demand.

Growing our position in the OTC market is an important element of our growth plan and demands that we build relationships with key wholesalers across Europe and extend the range of products sold in distribution outlets. Our strategy involves collaborating much more closely with wholesalers to boost consumer awareness of our products and services, which, in turn will help grow sales.

Multiple international agreements have already been signed with wholesalers enabling a much more structured approach to accelerating OTC growth in 2017. We’re now better placed to implement solid key account processes with a strong focus on

Speed dating with key customers – a new approach to accelerating growth

WRITTEN BY Ronald BalderHead of Strategic Accounts IMI Hydronic Engineering, France

Michael Rimm presents to his German buyer counterpart action plans to help develop stronger sales and purchasing alignment

growing brand awareness, driving digital activities and creating increased demand.

This year we have trialled a one-day ‘speed-dating’ exercise with key international customers. These are primarily aimed at building joint execution, promotional plans and discussing practical matters such as training and logistics. Regular reviews throughout the year help to ensure plans and activities are on track and provide clear feedback on the results.

“The speed dating exercises are a great opportunity for us to share how we are working to support growth on a global level with our OTC customers,” said Ivan Mokry, Head of Sales, Czech Republic, “it is really useful to meet with my counterparts from other geographies and to be inspired by the work going on in other markets.”

Pneumatic solutions from IMI Precision Engineering are playing an important role in advanced, customised machinery for the worldwide textile industry. Working closely with OBEM, a leading supplier to the industry, our products are helping to meet the challenge of providing ever-more compact machines.

OBEM, based at Biella in Italy, designs, manufactures and installs automatic machines and fully robotised plant for dyeing, steaming and drying yarn. With more than 5,000 machines in use by 1,200 customers around the world, OBEM has become a major success story since it was founded in 1946.

OBEM’s ‘can do’ philosophy and innovative approach are key to its success. It works closely with customers to understand their needs and provides custom-made solutions. In turn, we work closely with OBEM to meet their design aims.

Collaboration and innovation deliver success in textiles industryWRITTEN BY Renato Adorno IA Sales Manager IMI Precision Engineering, Italy

Marco Feggi, OBEM’s expert in electrical design explained, “To meet our customers’ requirements we’re always looking for more compact solutions – trying to design and manufacture the machine as a ‘single block’ with the control panel integrated in the machine and not as a separate part.”

“To do this, we need to work side by side with suppliers so that we start the design phase off on the right foot from the very beginning. For pneumatics, an essential element of all our plant, we work in close contact with IMI Precision Engineering technicians. Once they know our needs, they help us to come up with the best solution for our projects.”

“A good example is a recent prototype system for complex dyeing plant. There are four machines working simultaneously in parallel. There are 30 motors and the whole unit is managed pneumatically by an IMI Norgren DeviceNet network, with a very compact sequence of six IMI Norgren valve islands. This provides a very neat machine since as little as possible is seen outside the casing.”

OBEM develops unique software to control its machines. For its high-technology robotised plants installed worldwide, it has developed an advanced remote support system available through the internet from its Biella headquarters – allowing customers to update software easily and quickly. OBEM also works closely with universities and research centres on national and European projects geared to new technology development.

Yarn being processed using an OBEM plant

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Critical Precision Hydroniccustomer focus

customer focus

As a customer-centric business it’s absolutely vital that we know what our customers think about us. In April 2017 we commissioned a Net Promoter Score (NPS) survey, asking 787 customers from 11 countries to share their views about IMI Hydronic Engineering – and the results have been extremely constructive.

The survey sought to measure customers’ satisfaction, and how likely they would be to recommend us to their peers. In recent years a lot of effort and resources have been directed towards understanding

Survey reveals positive customer reactions WRITTEN BY Marcella ColombinoCorporate Communications IMI Hydronic Engineering, HQ

IMI Precision Engineering’s ‘82A’ range of lightweight aluminium fittings have been chosen by global rail technology leader, Bombardier Transportation, for its Queensland New Generation Rolling stock (QNGR) which is currently being delivered in Australia.

The QNGR project will see 75 new, six-car trains operating on the South East Queensland passenger network which

World’s lightest fittings chosen by Bombardier for Queensland trainsWRITTEN BY Ruupesh Chugh General Manager Sales IMI Precision Engineering, India

covers more than 800km. These trains will incorporate the entire spectrum of 82A fittings for compressed air including brake systems, couplings, pantographs and horns.

IMI Norgren’s 82A fittings have been comprehensively tested and validated for fire and smoke, shock and vibration, high pressure at low torque and corrosion – as per the toughest criteria defined by Bombardier to run the safest trains on earth.

Steve Hill, APAC Rail Sector Head, IMI Precision Engineering said, “This is a world-first for a new train fleet fitment using

exactly what our customers value and the fact that 89% now recognise IMI Hydronic Engineering as innovators in the HVAC industry is proof that the hard work is paying off.

Innovating the products and solutions the market needs is, without doubt, the most effective way to stand out in the market and ensure our demanding customer base can continue to rely on our products. An increase in customers that see us as innovators and who have responded positively to our marketing initiatives, illustrates that we’re effectively responding to customers’ needs.

Additionally, the survey highlighted that both digital and paper forms of communications are appreciated by

our customers. What is important is that customers can find the information they need, when they need it and whenever they are looking for it. Equally important is the human touch, as many customers continue to value our prompt response times to enquiries and proactive development of close relationships.

We are certainly heading in the right direction. A consultant from France pointed out, “IMI Hydronic Engineering is a business we’ve worked with for 20 years and we appreciate its product quality. They always follow up projects and are happy to respond quickly to our requests. We’re very happy to work with them.” Clearly, another satisfied customer!

our 82A lightweight fittings. These fittings are the lightest on the market – delivering significant weight savings of around 100kg per rail car. They are also probably the most user-friendly fittings you can find. We’re very proud that Bombardier have chosen us to supply them direct on this high-profile project. It shows that we’re regarded as an innovative supplier to the technology-focused rail industry and that we’re supporting the trend for smaller, lighter, faster solutions.”

The 82A fittings for the QNGR project are being delivered to Bombardier Transportations’ state-of-the-art manufacturing plant at Savli, India, where the trains are being built before shipment to Australia.

Our teams at IMI Precision Engineering Australia and India have been working closely together to ensure that all design, technical, validation and supply needs are met.

The QNGR electrical multiple unit trains are replacing an ageing fleet and will increase the overall size of the fleet in South East Queensland by 30%. In its single largest rail investment, Queensland’s Government selected Bombardier for a scope of work including design, manufacture and maintenance of the trains.


The Museum of Tomorrow in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has just scooped a prestigious MIPIM award for ‘Best Innovative Green Building’ and our energy-efficient solutions have helped secure the accolade.

One of the world’s premier international real estate events, MIPIM, (Le Marché International des Professionnels d’Immobilier) is held in Cannes and attracts the most influential players from all sectors of the property industry. The award recognises how the Museum of Tomorrow is helping to set new standards for sustainability and energy efficiency.

Tomorrow’s sustainable solutions delivered today WRITTEN BY Hernani Paiva

Sales Manager IMI Hydronic Engineering, Brazil

IMI Hydronic Brazil has been involved in the project since its inception in 2010. Working closely with consultants appointed by the Rio city government, Rodrigo Rochedo, Commercial Manager for IMI Hydronic Brazil, highlighted the energy-saving benefits and overall suitability of a range of IMI products for the project, from balancing valves and DP controllers, to pressure maintenance vessels and water make-up solutions.

IMI Hydronic Engineering also provided extensive system balancing and pressurisation training, backed up with ongoing support, that helped the consultant engineers achieve maximum HVAC efficiency. This contributed significantly to the building’s overall goal of being up to 40% more efficient than

comparable developments.The museum uses a forward-thinking

combination of solar power and deep waters from the nearby Guanbara Bay to drastically reduce the energy needed to effectively cool the building. It’s an innovative, eye-catching construction that uses solar spines and fan-like skylights to increase energy efficiency and adapt to changing environmental conditions.

Rodrigo Rochedo said, “This project was very important for IMI. It clearly shows that we have the solutions developers need to create the sustainable buildings of tomorrow. It’s also a great example of how we work closely with multiple project stakeholders to showcase what we have to offer. We’re really proud to have played a part in developing this architectural icon, the award really is the icing on the cake.”

The Museum of Tomorrow has quickly become one of Rio de Janeiro’s architectural icons

IMI Remosa is proud to have been awarded the contract to supply three valve packages for the Dangote refinery project, Nigeria; a business win that will help establish our presence in the developing African market.

The project is particularly significant as it will be the first supply of our new IMI Remosa Automatic Blind Flange package. This is an innovative product which allows man-safe maintenance of the equipment, but without interrupting the process.

IMI Remosa improves safety and reliability at Nigerian refinery

WRITTEN BY Fulvio MeniniHead of Sales for Petrochemical IMI Critical Engineering

This solution will bring great added value to the Dangote refinery by significantly reducing equipment downtime, and increasing the safety of operators through its automatic remote operation.

“We’re confident that once these valves are in operation, the reference will generate several new opportunities for revamps and upgrades in refineries around the world.” said Guiseppe Buscemi, Managing Director, IMI Remosa.

The Dangote refinery will produce fuel for Nigeria as well as for export

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customer focus Critical Precision Hydronic

customer focus


IMI Precision Engineering Japan is delighted to have been selected by leading truck manufacturer Isuzu to supply fittings for the VF76 project for its all-new FTR Series Class 6 truck sold in the US market. The contract is the latest in a string of deals that have led to rapid growth in the Commercial Vehicle (CV) sector for Precision in Japan. Production of the new truck began in May and is now well underway.

Four new IMI Norgren Fleetfit fittings, as well as a range of standard available Fleetfit fittings, are being supplied for use on the truck’s airbrake and auxiliary on-board compressed air system.

Isuzu chooses Precision for new truck’s fittingsWRITTEN BY Steve Green Sector Head, Commercial Vehicles, Asia Pacific IMI Precision Engineering

The fittings are being delivered into Isuzu’s logistics company for onward, ‘just in time’ delivery direct to Isuzu’s manufacturing facility in Japan.

Isuzu was one of Precision’s first commercial vehicle customers and the two companies have been working together since 1996. In that time, Precision has built a reputation as a reliable supplier of high quality products. There have been zero defects in parts delivered to date this year – with more than 99% of all deliveries on time. Dedicated key account management ensures a consistently high level of service to Isuzu.

Founded in 1916, Isuzu is Japan’s best-selling truck manufacturer and a major force for innovation that is helping to lead

the global automobile industry in the 21st century. It has a worldwide distributor network for its commercial vehicles and diesel engines and currently is deploying its technological expertise to develop hybrid-electric trucks utilising reliable diesel engines and, vehicles powered by alternative energy sources.

Takeo Sagara, National Sales Manager, Japan and Korea at IMI Precision Engineering said, “This contract confirms our relationship with Isuzu as their premium and preferred on-board fittings supplier. It ensures our supplier status for the life of this model and further reinforces the close relationship we have developed with this highly-valued customer.”

IMI Critical Petrochem has won a substantial contract for the supply and commissioning of slide, diverter and butterfly valves, manufactured by IMI Remosa, and isolation valves manufactured by IMI Z&J for the Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) process.

The valves will be used in the Bongaigaon Refinery in India, which is operated by India’s largest refining company, Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL). IOCL is in the process of building a new Indmax Fluid Catalytic Cracking unit at the refinery, with Larson & Toubro as its Engineering, Procurement and Construction partner.

IMI Remosa has a longstanding relationship with Larson & Toubro, and was a valued supplier on their previous similar project in 2012. Being able to provide technical and commercial support to Larson &Toubro right from the early bidding stage gave us a strong starting point for the successful bid.

Fulivo Menini, Head of Sales for Petrochemical said, “As Indmax is the most efficient Fluid Catalytic Cracking technology available today, it’s likely to be preferred by refineries in future projects, so this contract will be an important reference for future bids on upcoming projects.”

Critical businesses win important reference contract for FCC technologyWRITTEN BY Anastasia KarpovaSales Assistant, IMI Remosa IMI Critical Engineering

IMI Orton has secured five orders for triple eccentric offset butterfly valves for isolation and emergency shutdown service for a massive petrochemical project in Kazakhstan. This order saw IMI Orton win the IMI Critical Divisional Award for Commercial Excellence at this year’s conference in May.

The IMI Orton team, led by Sales Director Stefano Nucci, worked hard over many years to convince the licensor and to educate the engineering, procurement and construction company that the capability of the triple-offset valves and their leak-free design made them suitable for emergency shut down and isolation service, removing the need for a combination of butterfly and conventional valves to provide the required level of isolation.

Each of the five packages was tendered for independently, so winning all the orders against highly competitive bids from other suppliers was a real achievement.

IMI Orton secures multiple orders in KazakhstanWRITTEN BY Enzo StendardoMarketing Director, IMI Orton IMI Critical Engineering

All-new FTR Series Class 6 truck Image courtesy of Isuzu

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We’ve just enjoyed our most successful ever ISH show, one of the world’s leading HVAC industry trade fairs held biannually in Frankfurt. Visitor numbers were up, big deals were struck and our ‘For the love of free-time’ concept illustrated perfectly that we’re all about making life easier for our customers.

We shifted our focus this year, away from concentrating on product features, towards highlighting the benefits they can bring to customers, such as more ‘free time’ when you get it right first time, every time. We provided live entertainment, delicious BBQ food and, most importantly, a chance to see our latest innovations, which helped to pull in the crowds – 7,400 over the five days, more than 17% up on the 2015 event; attendance that helped make the event a standout success.

An evening function attended by 160 important customers was appreciated to help escape the ISH crowds and a dedicated Press Event that attracted 18 industry journalists helped boost interest even further. The success of this three-pronged approach was plain to see. In previous years, visitors have been most interested in the home-grown IMI Heimeier brand, yet this year saw a huge increase in interest around our IMI TA and IMI Pneumatex offerings as well.

Michael Rimm, Regional Head of Sales Central Europe, IMI Hydronic Engineering said, “We had many good meetings with important customers on the stand and a high number of new leads. Visitor numbers were certainly a new record and feedback from the team and customers was overwhelmingly positive.”

Despite the ‘free-time feel’, serious business was also completed during the ISH fair. Most noticeably, the signing of a new seven-figure, 2-year exclusive contract with Reece, one of Australia’s best-known retailers. It takes our long-standing business relationship with Reece past the decade mark. During their stay in Europe, Reece also took the opportunity to

Record-breaking ISH 2017WRITTEN BY Natalie Zeranska,Head of Marketing Communications IMI Hydronic Engineering, HQ

IMI Hydronic Engineering Team at ISH 2017

Customer discovering our products

Two of our Critical businesses – IMI Z&J in Germany and IMI Critical Engineering China joined forces to produce winning bids to provide large isolation valves to the Hengli Petrochemical’s propane and butane dehydrogenation unit in Dalian, Liaoning province, and the Dongguan project in China.

Our teams used their decades of design and application experience and IMI’s Value Analysis and Value Engineering processes to produce very competitive bids that met the client’s exacting technical requirements.

Critical businesses work together to secure contracts in China

WRITTEN BY Richard Yu Business Development Director, IMI Critical Engineering APAC

These are the first projects we have won orders for this year that use Catofin catalytic dehydrogenation technology, a fixed-bed process that helps to produce propylene from propane commercially. The contract win maintains our status as the key supplier for the process.

Roy Twite, Divisional Managing Director of IMI Critical Engineering said, “This is a fantastic win in a really competitive market. The team’s close support of the customer, and the application of our Value Engineering processes ensured we secured this significant business.”

meet with Chief Executive Mark Selway at the exhibition and visit our Olkusz facility in Poland.

Alan Wilson, Reece Chairman, commented, “We were very impressed with the factory visit, the pride and culture of excellence was plain to see. The signing of the contract with IMI was the highlight of ISH 2017 for Reece.”

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Critical Precision Hydroniccustomer focus

customer focus

These are exciting times for IMI Precision Engineering in the US! After 12 months in development, our first truly intelligent product, iLift™, is well on the way to market and attracting a lot of interest in the Commercial Vehicles (CV) sector. The revolutionary iLift intelligent lift axle control system will deliver benefits for truck fleets including improved performance, safety and cost efficiency.

iLift was successfully put through its paces by a major waste management company in a pilot programme earlier this year. The company agreed to help validate our innovative system after we made contact with them at a trade show in Nashville at the end of February.

Just a month later, the system was installed on three refuse trucks in Ohio. It meant some long days spent crawling around inside refuse trucks to ensure the system was operating correctly. But getting our new product validated on a major fleet was well worth all the effort.

Lift axles are critical to vehicle safety and performance. In the refuse management industry alone, there are more than 100,000 vehicles in operation in the US. iLift is designed to autonomously deploy and proportionally control the lift axle,

New intelligent product validated on US truck fleetWRITTEN BY Roman Suter Key Account Manager IMI Precision Engineering Auburn WA

Roman Suter (right) with a truck containing the iLift system

keeping trucks load-legal without driver intervention. Automatic lift and deployment means drivers can retain their focus on the road. The load on drive axles is also optimised for improved traction and braking. As well as improving safety, iLift will reduce fines (for illegal load limits) and maintenance costs for truck fleet operators.

Based on the successful IMI Norgren Lift Axle Control Module (LACM), iLift incorporates patented iAir® technology from US transportations and technology company, Aktv8 in Michigan. The intelligent system is enabled by a patented electronic control module and a flexible software platform.

Rachel Lahr, Key Account Manager within Commercial Vehicles said, “The IMI Norgren LACM has been sold for ten years and has established a reputation as one of the highest reliability and fastest deploying lift axle valves in the market. The addition of the iLift technology makes our system the clear innovation leader for the specialty vehicle market.”

The iLift system is a key CV project for IMI Precision Engineering in the Americas. There was some great customer feedback when we unveiled it at Waste Expo 2017 in New Orleans in May. We are now in the final countdown to commencing production in September.

As part of our commitment to being a customer-centric business, IMI Hydronic Engineering has launched a stunning new website.

There’s a clean fresh look and feel that harmonises the site with the rest of the IMI Group’s branding. Based on extensive customer feedback, we increased key functionality to make it much easier for customers to find products. The new product finder filters searches by product category, brand or application and can compare similar products in our range with a few simple clicks

We’ve also added new sections for individual customer types to highlight more effectively what we can do for them and how we add value to their businesses. One thing we know our customers love is our extensive market leading Hydronic experience, so the site is packed with information, including a knowledge hub, FAQs section and a comprehensive glossary.

In addition, we’ve made it even easier for customers to access the software and apps they need to create high-performing HVAC installations. This site is available in multiple languages which reflects the global nature of our business. So, it’s easier on the eye, easier to find your way around and also even quicker for customers to find on search engines. We think it does a GREAT job of highlighting all that we have to offer.

A site for sore eyes!WRITTEN BY Natalie ZeranskaHead of Marketing Communications IMI Hydronic Engineering, HQ

Our new homepage – gateway to a world of HVAC resources and know-how


customer focus

One of Turkey’s biggest Private-Public Partnership (PPP) developments, the Adana Integrated Health Campus, will benefit from IMI Pneumatex products when it opens in late 2017.

The 250,000 sq/m facility will provide a full range of healthcare services using state-of-the-art equipment. With a total capacity of 1,550 beds, it’s expected to fulfil increasing demand for high-quality healthcare within the region.

The success comes after 12 months of solid work from our Turkish Sales team and was achieved despite stiff competition from other providers. “It’s been a long process, but really worth the effort,” said Emre Engin, Ankara Regional Sales Engineer, “we’ve worked very closely with all decision makers, including the designers, end users and the main contractor RMI Ronesans Medical Taahhut A.S. In all, we held 15 technical and commercial meetings, as well as providing training, to highlight how IMI Pneumatex could provide the perfect solution for the project’s needs.”

It’s a GREAT win for the team and a fitting reward for all our hard work. We put in a lot of effort to build trust with the customer, focusing on the benefits our solutions could deliver for all parties involved in the project, and we’re confident that it’s just the first of many similar successes to come.

Close consultation helps secure hospital project win in Turkey

WRITTEN BY Özgür Gürer Head of Sales IMI Hydronic Engineering, Turkey

Adana Integrated Health Campus, one of Turkey’s biggest PPP healthcare projects

MI CCI has secured orders to provide upgraded valves and actuators for Yara, the world’s largest producer of ammonia, nitrates, and nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilisers.

Yara operates a three-plant ammonia production facility at Savonetta in central Trinidad, which produces 1.3 million metric tons of ammonia annually. After nearly 30 years in operation, the Tringen II plant was in serious need of an upgrade.

IMI CCI secures orders with new product for Yara’s ammonia plants WRITTEN BY Crystal SebringMarketing & Communications Manager IMI CCI RSM

The Precision team in Bad Oyenhausen have used their industry know-how and expert technical design to develop a IMI Buschjost motor control valve exclusively for Engel, the world-leading manufacturer of plastic moulding machines. The development of Engel’s new ‘e-flomo’ temperature control water manifold system aimed to improve the stability of injection moulding processes. The customer needed an expert partner to design a control valve to regulate the system’s water circuits.

IMI Buschjost taps into growing demand for bespoke control valve solutionsWRITTEN BY Axel Wangler-Stelter Sales Manager Process Specials IMI Precision Engineering

Stephan Kuhlmann (left), Key Account Manager for Engel and Axel Wangler-Stelter, Sales Manager demonstrate the Engel valve at Hannover Messe

Close collaboration between Engel and our Bad Oyenhausen team led to the development of a technologically-advanced on-board tooling and cooling unit. Engel needed a proportional motor control unit for controlling the temperature using cooling water; temperature control throughout the machine is vital to its correct operation as different areas of the machine require different temperatures to ensure the plastic responds as predicted. This type of cooling system solution – a high-performance unit with precise control – would provide Engel with the competitive edge they were looking for. The exacting design specifications for the bespoke IMI Buschjost control valve necessitated alternating water pressure, (between low and high), be fully controllable to achieve constant flow. The compact design solution was integrated into the machine, so there is no need for an external control unit. Automatic loading and pre-set parameters are saved by the machine, reducing set-up time by 80%. The robust nature of the valve provides a high level of reliability for Engel and requires little maintenance.

Rapid technological advancements and growing market demand for this type of solution has led to higher demand than expected. Engel’s continuing strong growth plans mean our own business should continue to grow alongside them.

Yara had been happily using our valves for 35 years, and approached us to provide upgrade solutions to its installed fleet. Our team carried out an extensive survey with the customer of all the valves onsite, before recommending suitable valves for the upgrade.

The final recommendation included the recently launched High Endurance actuator design. This design combines low maintenance costs with reduced risk of damage from debris.


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people

In March 2017, our Critical and Precision operations in India joined forces to launch a training programme for managers in that country to help them thrive as GREAT managers within the IMI Group.

Helping our managers in India to be GREAT WRITTEN BY Prakash BabuHead of HR IMI Critical Engineering, India

The programme was designed to support and facilitate our five-year strategic plan, ‘Engineering GREAT’ and used internal and external trainers to enhance the capabilities and confidence IMI managers need to be able to grow the business through to 2021.

As the programme unfolded, managers were encouraged to share best practice and collaborate across the businesses. As well as helping managers hone their skills through experiential learning activities delivered by energetic external trainers, the programme also included a number of internal speakers who were able to offer useful insights into the Group’s operating practices, organisational objectives and management decision-making process.

“This programme has been of real value. Learning, thinking, imagination, collaboration and execution all came together to create a great experience.” said Tarak Chhaya, President, IMI Critical Engineering, India.

IMI Critical Engineering has appointed Andrea Forzi as Head of Isolation, in addition to his role as Head of Petrochemicals and IMI STI. He succeeds Alberto Aliani, formerly Head of Isolation and of IMI Orton, who is retiring after many years’ service.

At the same time, Raoul Gatti has taken over as MD of IMI Orton, based in Piacenza, Italy. Raoul is a mechanical engineer by training, and an experienced senior manager in the automotive and industrial sectors, with experience in pharmaceuticals, chemicals and thermoplastics. He has worked previously for Pirelli, Volvo Trucks, CF Gomma and, more recently, CSI.

Roy Twite, Divisional Managing Director of IMI Critical Engineering said, “I’d like to thank Alberto for his contribution to developing our Isolation business, and in particular IMI Orton, over many years, and we wish him a long and happy retirement. I’d also like to congratulate Andrea and Raoul on their new roles; they have a strong platform on which to build as we take our Isolation business forward.”

Senior management changes at Critical WRITTEN BY Chris BattersbyHuman Resources Director IMI Critical Engineering

To support the upgraded connectivity of IMI Precision Engineering’s valve islands, a training package has been delivered to 180 colleagues in sales and technical sales support teams across Europe. The training is vital to ensure we offer GREAT service to customers in the complex area of valve connectivity.

IMI Norgren VM and VS ranges of valve islands have been upgraded to include PROFINET IRT and EtherNet/IP connectivity. These new-generation products were launched at the Hannover Messe trade exhibition in April but well in advance of the launch, we created a training package especially for our sales force in Germany.

The aim was to raise colleagues’ product knowledge to enable them to answer questions from customers on the upgraded valve island with confidence. The training package began with a simple ‘Adam and Eve’ explanation of terms regarding connectivity. It explained the difference between Fieldbuses and Industrial Ethernet protocols in a way that was easy to understand and it also highlighted the benefits of Industrial Ethernet such as faster cycle times.

Training programme strengthens sales team’s product knowledgeWRITTEN BY Anna Wicik Business Development Manager, Valve Islands IMI Precision Engineering, Alpen

Trainees’ knowledge was built up gradually throughout the half-day training session so that they reach a much deeper understanding.

Working with Rainer Rentschler, Business Development Manager, the training was initially delivered to 50 people in Germany. There was great feedback from people on the course who said it had helped them to understand our improved valve island connectivity much better.

On the back of this, we took the programmes to Austria, Poland and Switzerland. In the run-up to Hannover Messe 2017, we were invited to all the pre-launch events in the UK to train colleagues from the UK, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy. We then took the training to Spain, the Nordic countries, Italy and the Czech Republic.

Feedback has been very positive throughout which is extremely satisfying. All the trainees were keen to learn so they could do the best job.

Ron Bennett, Global Product Marketing Manager for Valves at IMI Precision Engineering said, “To develop our business and provide good customer service it’s important that our sales force are confident in their knowledge about our products and their features. This excellent training package, coupled with high levels of motivation from trainees, will benefit our business and help to ensure that our customers can make informed product choices.”


IMI’s Group and Divisional Conference - engaging, energizing, inspiring!

WRITTEN BY Prakash BabuHead of HR IMI Critical Engineering, India

For the first time, the Group and Divisional conferences were this year combined into one event in Wales with nearly 300 people coming together for a week in May.

The theme of the conference was ‘Outrunning the Competition’. The intention was to align the stage we have reached in our five-year strategy of ‘nearly firing on all cylinders’ with a clear intent to ensure that in 2017 everything will be in place to be ‘up to full speed’ as we enter 2018.

The format of the conference encouraged wide collaboration and included sessions from IMI’s Executive, as well as group work on ‘the journey so far’ and the ‘core to our success – developing ourselves and our people’. The group also heard from a City analyst and an economist, who presented on different market trends affecting our businesses.

Feedback from delegates was positive, “Such a positive feeling and GREAT to connect and re-connect with so many colleagues from across the Group. It reminded me what a fantastic organisation we are all part of and what great progress we are making to achieve our strategic goals.”

WRITTEN BY Katrina FeeneyCommunications Executive IMI plc

We were also pleased that the Chairman and two non-executive directors were able to spend time with the group. As has become customary, part of the main dinner was given over to an awards ceremony with the Chairman presenting:

l The Chairman’s Award for the Most Improved Facility to IMI Precision Engineering, Detroit

l Chief Executive’s Award for Commercial Excellence to the APAC Rail Team, IMI Precision Engineering

And three awards for Innovation:

l IMI CCI Austria & IMI CCI Europe in Critical Engineering for design of the Drag Production Choke

l Global IMI Norgren Express Team in Precision Engineering for the IMI Norgren Express

®App

l TA-Modulator Engineering Team in Sweden & Slovenia within Hydronic Engineering for developing larger sizes of the TA-Modulator valve

A special recognition award was also given to IMI CCI Korea for being awarded Supplier of the Year by Doosan, a large global EPC. (More details on page 16). Following the Group conference, delegates broke into their divisions for their own conferences and award ceremonies but re-grouped on the last evening for a final networking opportunity.

Glen Collins has joined IMI Precision Engineering as Global Marketing Director with responsibility for all marketing initiatives. He reports directly to Massimo Grassi, who welcomed Glen to the Precision team in March 2017.

Glen is an industrial business-to-business (B2B) marketing expert with experience in all facets of the marketing function from strategic planning to marketing for new product innovations. He has joined Precision Engineering from Honeywell where he worked in various senior marketing and product management positions over 12 years before progressing to VP Marketing for the Security & Fire EMEA division.

Whilst at Honeywell, Glen spent five years in Switzerland where he was responsible for the strategic marketing and business development of the fire and gas sensors business. Prior to this he worked for Marconi (now part of Ericsson) in various senior marketing and business development positions.

Glen has a degree in Economics and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Birmingham. He lives with his family in the West Midlands and is based at Lakeside, Birmingham UK.

Precision appoints new Global Marketing Director

Glen Collins who has joined IMI Precision Engineering as Global Marketing Director

WRITTEN BY John Mockler Global HR Director IMI Precision Engineering

The great work done by our sales team around the world is being recognised in a new incentive scheme at IMI Precision Engineering. Gold, silver and bronze medal award certificates are being presented to colleagues who have excelled in winning new customers and securing new product sales.

New awards recognise achievement in salesWRITTEN BY John Mockler Global HR Director IMI Precision Engineering

The scheme was launched at IMI Precision Engineering’s annual regional sales conferences in January. Three awards are being made quarterly to sales team members in each of our sales regions in the Americas, APAC and Europe. The inaugural awards in Q1 of this year saw presentations to nine people in recognition of their sales achievements.

Massimo Grassi, Divisional Managing Director presented the awards along with senior colleagues from each of the regions. He said, “Our sales team is playing a pivotal role in delivering growth and success for IMI Precision Engineering in markets world-wide. This new incentive scheme is a great opportunity to formally recognise their efforts, commitment and achievements.”

A panel of IMI’s Executive reflect on a good day at the Group conference

25

Critical Precision Hydronicpeople

people

Imperative to our future success is ensuring we have the right people in the right place, with the right skills, doing the right things in the right way.

One of the main drivers to achieve this is having the right quality of leadership, and the most important source of those leaders is our internal talent.

It is therefore pleasing that, in the last six months, we have been able to promote six internal candidates to the position of Managing Director. They are:

l Giuseppe Buscemi, Managing Director, IMI Remosa

l Peter Kull, Managing Director, IMI CCI Sweden

l Roby Buyung, Managing Director, IMI Critical Engineering, South East Asia Pacific

l Kenichi Matsuo, Managing Director, IMI Critical Engineering, Japan

l Mirko Grossi, Managing Director, IMI CCI Italy

l Tentile Motha, Managing Director, IMI CCI South Africa

With the increased focus on personal development, and participation in the IMI Leadership Development programmes, plus the hard work of our staff, we hope that many more internal promotions to this level will take place. These will, of course, be subject to merit and the full recruitment process.

I would like to add my personal congratulations to all of the six new Managing Directors and wish them every success as we deliver our strategy in the next few years.

Investing in home-grown talent builds bench strengthWRITTEN BY Roy TwiteDivisional Managing Director IMI Critical Engineering

Six young apprentices have breathed real life into IMI Precision Engineering’s ‘Man’s Most Marvellous Machines’ campaign by building a gigantic marvellous machine model. Featuring a cityscape and working parts from Precision’s own product ranges, the model created an immediate buzz when it was unveiled on the stand at the Hannover Messe trade fair in April.

At four metres wide and three metres tall, the colourful and eye-catching model incorporates more than 1,000 individual parts and showcases our products including pneumatic actuators, air preparation products and valve islands.

The apprentices at Fradley in the UK built the complex and intricate machine model in just over six weeks. Before construction began, they created their own workshop and used design skills to develop the concept for the working model. Each of the apprentices was assigned specific responsibility for building and integrating different parts of the model.

Getting it ready for a launch at Hannover Messe meant a tight timescale. The apprentices rose to the challenge by being proactive and using their problem-solving skills. The whole team was committed and worked long hours to create the marvellous machine.

Francesca Dematteis, Business Development Executive, who helped manage the apprentices’ machine project said, “We trusted these apprentices to deliver this high-profile project and they didn’t disappoint. They used a wide range of skills and put in a fantastic performance to deliver the wonderful working model on time. All of the apprentices were excited by the challenge and are proud of what they achieved – and we’re very proud of them.”

The weight of the machine model – at just over a tonne – posed a logistical challenge. To ship it to Germany, it was part-disassembled at Fradley following the initial build and commissioning. At Hannover it soon became clear that the model would capture everyone’s imagination – with people constantly coming onto the stand to take photographs and video, even during the re-build.

For everyone involved, the marvellous machine model project was all-consuming for many weeks. It was also great fun, exciting and immensely satisfying to bring the ‘Man’s Most Marvellous Machines’ campaign to life.

Fradley apprentices use their skills to bring marvellous machine to lifeWRITTEN BY Murray Schofield Simulation Design Engineer IMI Precision Engineering, Fradley

Project managers and apprentices with the marvellous machine are (L-R) Murray Schofield, Ryan Lenton-Kane, Aaron Broadbent, Richard Brown, Mark Chamberlain, Francesca Dematteis, Benjamin Briguglio and Maria Collins


people

Since February 2016, over 200 site leaders, managers, executives and non-executive Board members across all divisions and functions have attended 16 IMI Lean Leaders training sessions.

Developed and delivered by Alan Harrison,Group Lean Manager, and Howard Emery, Lean Expert, these sessions equip our leaders to accelerate lean improvements in their business.

The programme focuses on the ‘WHY’ rather than the ‘HOW’ of lean and consists of exercises, discussions and shop-floor Gemba walks. The exercises (simulating a five-year lean improvement journey in just three days) start by creating a vision and progressively implementing the tools and methods by presentation, discussion and learning by doing.

The outcome of the exercises is a clear view on ‘world-class’ practice and results - demonstrating the benefits to the business and customers of using lean

Lean Leaders training – our Way to Engineering GREATWRITTEN BY Alan HarrisonGroup Lean Manager IMI plc

principles, behaviour and tools. Additionally the attendees can see what lean looks like and it helps to provide a vision of what is possible given their leadership and support.

The feedback for the course has been very positive and all attendees would recommend the training.

Below are some of the comments from our leaders about the training and how they plan to use what they learnt:

“To grow, we must continuously improve and innovate. This training helped to push my knowledge even further and provide a better understanding and tools of how to do this!”

“Immensely helpful! Very relevant for non-op function IT: (1) Can be applied in non-op areas (2) educates on what our sites are doing.”

“Very well executed – great content – good to link tools to business performance.”

You can find more information about Lean Leaders training in the Manufacturing function on the global intranet.

Leaders take part in an exercise to illustrate the production levelling benefits of the Heijunka technique

IMI Critical Engineering’s 100th Valve Doctor® has recently graduated from our acclaimed Valve Doctor® programme.

Valve Doctors® are our top technical experts, who help customers deal with their most demanding engineering challenges. They combine solid technical experience on valves with industry expertise, application experience and system/plant level knowledge.

Operating on site wherever they are needed, they solve process flow problems, and optimise plant performance, in power, nuclear, oil & gas and petrochemical plants around the world.

To become a Valve Doctor®, engineers must undertake a comprehensive programme that can take up to seven years to complete. It includes valve design, plant operation, system layout and control system integration.

“We believe The Valve Doctor training programme is widely acknowledged as the highest level of application engineering in the severe service industry,” said Chris Peterson, Valve Doctor Programme Chairman, IMI CCI, ‘”the Valve Doctor is the personification of IMI’s philosophy of Engineering GREAT.”

Running since 2000, the Valve Doctor® programme helps us attract and retain the best engineers in our sectors.

Critical qualifies its 100th Valve Doctor ®

WRITTEN BY Mike Semens-FlanaganDirector Strategic Planning IMI Critical Engineering

27


people

Another successful IMI Way Day!WRITTEN BY Katrina Feeney Communications Executive IMI plc

Throughout the month of June, our annual IMI Way Day took place at our businesses around the Group. The purpose of the day is to engage with all employees, sharing our core messages, and whilst doing so, reinforcing the importance of the IMI Way and Code of Conduct as essential guides to the way we do business.

The format for the morning was the same at all locations – a presentation by the site manager in which we celebrated the successes of 2016, including the launch of some great new products and operational improvements, and discussed the priorities for 2017. We then broke out into smaller groups to complete worksheets giving our feedback on the progress we believe we are making against the Group’s objectives.

As in previous years, sites then took the opportunity to incorporate team building and community activities as part of the IMI Way Day.

Community activities around the world included:l an afternoon spent leading games and

activities at a centre for children with autism in Shanghai, China

l organising supplies for a food bank in Dallas, USA

l taking elderly residents out for the afternoon in Singapore

l development of a garden at a school in the UK, where children have limited access to the outdoors

l visiting an orphanage and donating books, clothes and medicines in India… and many more.

The day was a huge success, and this was due to the commitment, hard work and determination of the employees who participated throughout the day.

IMI Group Finance Director, Dan Shook, has recently strengthened his team at Lakeside with the appointments of Sally McKone as Group Financial Controller, and Adrian Edwards as Head of Treasury.

Sally McKone joined IMI from Electrocomponents plc, a UK FTSE 250 company where she had held various group and operational finance roles, delivering systems implementation and major change projects. In 2015 Sally was appointed interim Group Finance Director for six months.

She plays a critical role in supporting Dan Shook with the efficient day-to-day running of the finance organisation and works closely with the businesses to ensure performance is in line with expectations across the Group.

Adrian Edwards rejoined IMI, having previously worked for the Group for four years in the early 2000s. In the interim period he was with JCB, most recently working as the Group Taxation and Treasury Manager, responsible for the company’s worldwide treasury function.

In his role as Head of Treasury with IMI, Adrian is responsible for providing functional support on all Treasury matters including cash management, funding, financial risk management and mitigation, and taking the lead in managing the Group’s relationships with our key commercial banking and funding partners.

New appointments strengthen Group Finance TeamWRITTEN BY Mandip SandhuHR Business Partner IMI plc

Group: Katrina Feeney [email protected]

IMI Critical Engineering: Mike Semens-Flanagan [email protected]

Group Head Office IMI plc Lakeside, Solihull Parkway Birmingham Business Park Birmingham B37 7XZ United Kingdom Tel: +44 121 717 3700 www.imiplc.com

Next Edition February 2018 Do you have any articles for the EYE? Please submit your story ideas, copy and images to:

IMI Precision Engineering: Sarah Middleton [email protected]

IMI Hydronic Engineering: Natalie Zeranska [email protected]

Turkey

China

USA

India

SpainUK

the imi newsletter issue 7 august 2017 · hydronic engineering: the hydronic division also made...

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