The ‘materials support program’ sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Economy helps companies with up to 1000 employees raise the productivity of resources, opening the door to improvements in competitiveness. Companies receive input from accredited head consultants.
Companies that have already participated in the materials support program have made significant cost savings through product, process and operational improvements. Projects already budgeted for throughout Germany have the potential to save from 30,000 to in excess of 500,000 euros per year. Feasibility studies, project management and training can also be applied for, with subventions of up to 99,000 euros.
Companies can occur losses at many stages of the manufacturing process: right from product development, to defining purchasing, raw material production, finishing, assembly and dispatch. This is why the State charged the German Material Efficiency Agency (demea) to go through the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology and use its accredited head consultants on site to bring about long-term value chain improvements in companies with up to 1000 employees. Potential improvements range from 1.5 to 6.5 per cent of turnover, equating to savings of 70,000 to 1.2 million euros.
Current projects range from tooling time optimization on machines to the reduction of through-put cycles and market and competitive studies. The experts at the Steinbeis Material Efficiency Center in Gosheim are accredited head consultants certified by the German Material Efficiency Agency.
Walter K. Staiger | Petra Ohlhauser | Christoph Seyfried
Steinbeis Transfer Center Material Efficiency Center (Gosheim)
stz1084@stw.de