DATWYLER PRODUCTION SYSTEM (DPS)We are dedicated to achieving the highest quality for our customers in all the products and services we offer throughout the world.

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A MESSAGE FROM THE CEO

Torsten Maschke, CEO Datwyler Sealing Solutions

As we constantly strive for improvement and optimiza tion, production is no exception. Production is at the heart of what we do and is the core of our business. The new Datwyler Production System (DPS) has been developed with exactly this thought in mind. It will allow us to achieve operational excellence in everything we do.

The Datwyler Production System is about change, the kind of change that drives continuous improvement. Our dedicated DPS Team has been on a long journey of research and disco-very to enable us to advance our company even further. The journey included visits to other manufacturing companies to study and learn from production systems in practice. It inclu-ded analyses of Datwyler‘s operational sites, where interviews were conducted with functional leaders, so best practices and benchmarks could be established. An extensive literature re-view that combined theories and latest findings with valuable academic support and insights was also conducted. Along the way, the team developed a wide range of elements, tools and methods – a foundation upon which our Datwyler Production System can stand and rely on. They will gradually be rolled out in all our production sites worldwide.

With this being said, I want to emphasize that the Datwy-ler Production System is about more than just excellence in production. It is a common approach to improve our overall operations performance. It will eventually change our mind-set and our company culture, and will lead all Datwyler sites and employees to live a common philosophy. This philosophy will provide for continuous process improvement, and will create an environment to identify synergies and decisi-vely build the future-proof company and solutions we strive to provide our customers.

As CEO of Datwyler Sealing Solutions, I am proud to work for and with a team of employees dedicated to continuous im- provement and operational excellence. Together, we can ensure that great potential is leveraged and translated into action, that cooperation and synergies are strengthened, and finally, that Datwyler will stand and develop as the partner that our custo-mers can rely on – now and in the future.

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With determination and the spirit of a pioneer, Adolf Dätwyler laid the foundation for the company’s success in 1915.

STABILITYAND STRENGTH

The history of the Datwyler Group has strong roots. Our company was founded on four guiding prin ciples that led our business to success. These principles are entrepreneur-ship, customer focus, excellence, and respect for others. To ensure that these key success factors will continue to be the driving force of our business, Datwyler esta blished them as official corporate values and presented them to all employees at its 100th anniversary in 2015.

These values are the basis of our culture and mindset at any Datwyler location worldwide – in the past, present, and future.

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WE AREENTREPRENEURS

We are leaders, not managers

We like fast decisions, we minimize bureaucracy

We are accountable for our results and passionate to deliver

We are competitive and we love to win

We are aware of our personal contribution to the company’s success

We reward success

WE EXCELIN WHAT WE DO

We continuously improve our processes, products and services

We live up to our promises

We eliminate waste in all our processes

We use natural resources in a sustainable way

WE BRING VALUE TO OUR CUSTOMERS

Customers are always first

Customer needs drive our innovation

We exceed their expectations regarding quality,

on time delivery and value

We focus only on what creates value for our customers

WE HAVE RESPECTFOR OTHERS

We have high integrity and respect our code of conduct

We want to attract the best talent, retain and develop our performing associates

We make our contribution to the team and challenge each other

We seek fact-based and root-caused solutions, not blame

We want to further develop ourselves and are open for constructive criticism

COMPANY VALUES

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CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENTDatwyler has taken the step of implementing a newly developed Production System at all its sites worldwide. This activity will include all employees as it is rooted in the idea of continuous improvement of every aspect of the company, manufacturing processes, staff, struc tures, and machines. Good leadership and management is as important as involving every level in the process of creating synergies and establishing new structures.

HI, MY NAME IS DAPSY

It is my responsibility to help our employees and provide them with tips and tricks, explain methods and tools, and let them know when new developments of the Datwyler Production System arrive.

The employees named me in a competition, making sure they all know who I am and how I can be of any help.

Every time you see me here, I will be ready with tips or annotations, so keep looking for me!

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We have respect for others

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We bring value to our customers

Continuou

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Continuous Improvement

Cont

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Continuous Improvement

Leadership and

People Empowerment

Desig

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Qu

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Delivery

Safety

Environ

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Costs

People

OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE

Proc

ess

Stab

ility

Flow

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The Datwyler Production System has been developed and is based on Datwyler’s existing company values and lean princi-ples. Operational excellence is our ultimate goal and consists of six dimensions:

Safety

Quality

Delivery

Costs

Environment

People

The dimensions have a specific meaning to Datwyler as a com-pany, no matter where the site is or the employee is based or at which level they work. To reach this goal, a common philo-sophy is key.

Synergies need to be created and pursued to drive productivity and efficiency. This will enable Datwyler to achieve not only the goal of operational excellence, but to be further established as a reliable global industrial supplier with future-proof solutions in every segment.

Through the newly established five fundamental elements, those standards have been raised to a new level of importance and will serve as the guiding force for the Production System.

The five fundamental elements consist of:

Leadership & People Empowerment

Process Stability

Flow

Design for Future

Continuous Improvement

All those elements are supported by methods and tools that will be further elaborated upon in this brochure. They are in-tended to lead all Datwyler Sealing Solutions employees to having a clear and unified vision of the purpose and goal of the Production System:

Through the implementation of the Production System, Dat-wyler will continue to be a competitive market player, conti-nuously striving to improve and create benefits for customers, employees, and the environment – with every Datwyler pro-duct, in every country.

DATWYLER PRODUCTION SYSTEM MODEL

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SAFETY

We ensure a safe workplace.

We ensure a safe workplace in all our offices and production sites worldwide.

QUALITY

We have no quality issues.

We only deliver the highest quality and offer proven solutions. If any of our pro-ducts should not meet our costumers’ expectations, we will immediately in-vestigate the cause of this irregularity.

DELIVERY

We deliver as promised.

We strive to avoid any surprises or unexpected difficulties. We deliver products and services as promised – all ordered products, right on time.

COSTS

We have no waste in our processes.

By optimizing our business and manu - facturing processes as well as our operations processes, we are able to offer the best value at low costs.

ENVIRONMENT

We protect our environment.

We are fully aware of the finite nature of our resources and our fragile eco-system. Therefore, reducing our en-vironmental footprint is one of our top pri orities.

PEOPLE

We have satisfied and empowered people.

Every successful company is founded on its employees. It is our responsi-bility to empower them and give them what they need to excel in everything they do.

SIX DIMENSIONS FOSTER EXCELLENCE

The ultimate goal of the Datwyler Production System is to achieve operational excellence and foster a lean culture. By fully taking advantage of our potential, we will advance our leading global position and strengthen our competitive advantage. We strive for ope rational excellence in everything we do and have defined six dimensions that cover all aspects of our business.

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LEADERSHIP AND PEOPLE EMPOWERMENT

is to give direction, inspiration, and power to everyone to achieve operational excellence. At Datwyler, we facilitate the continued learning of our employees and are continuously transforming ourselves. Our roles and responsibilities are clearly defined, and our targets and actions are aligned with a long-term planning perspective. We create transparency, and we lead by example.

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

is the driving force behind our success. Our standard improvement method allows us to learn from each other to enhance our products, services, and processes. This will build a culture of ongoing improvement, where everyone, everywhere changes for the better every single day.

PROCESS STABILITY

is to produce consistent results with predictable perfor-mance and quality over time. Therefore, we create stan-dard tasks and processes, keep our workplaces safe and efficient, and secure required resources. We pass on only good quality.

The Datwyler Production System consists of five fundamental elements that build a framework for our ultimate goal – to achieve operational excellence and foster a lean culture. These elements serve as orientation to all employees worldwide and give guidance when strategic decisions have to be made.

OUR FIVE FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENTS

FLOW

is to streamline our business and manufacturing proces-ses. This way, we keep things simple, synchronize pro-duction, create a continuous flow of items, products and information within a process, and shorten the required production time.

DESIGN FOR FUTURE

is to ensure that everything we invest in improves our current condition and allows us to outperform our com- petitors. This means that we create efficient factory designs and layouts, provide reliable and future-proof technology and manufacturing processes, while fostering cooperation with employees from different functions and across diffe-rent sites – all working towards a common goal.

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THE DATWYLER PRODUCTION SYSTEM IS BASED ON LEAN PRINCIPLES, WHICH IS A SYSTEMATIC METHOD FOR THE ELIMINA TION OF WASTE WITHIN A MANU-FACTURING SYSTEM.

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«Eliminating waste along entire value streams creates processes that need less human effort, space, capital, and time to manufacture products and services at far less cost and with fewer defects. The benefits of lean principles have a strong presence in all six dimensions. This will make Datwyler a more efficient place and further reduce waste – a fact I am very happy about!»

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Reaching out to our employees on-site and in person is key, as on-site communication is more effective than mass com-munication platforms and tools. It allows instant feedback and dialogue, builds credibility, and creates a sense of importance and urgency. We do not want to simply convey a message – we want to foster a sustainable change in mindset across all hierarchical levels.

Our goal is that all employees truly understand the Datwyler Production System and its measures. Their constructive feed-back and approach to incorporating changes every day is what makes us become stronger as a company. We want to grow from the heart of our organization because each action from our employees influences our overall performance.

We foster transparency and a culture of open communication in all our offices worldwide. To ramp up our communication, we introduced localized tool-kits including guidelines, timeline proposals, and other instruments in the local language. A dedi-cated Datwyler Production System Wall is located on all shop floor levels as well as online news and on-site trainings provide further information.

TRANSPARENCY AND CONSTANT COMMUNICATION

Creating the Datwyler Production System is only the first step when it comes to introducing new processes and standards to reach operati-onal excellence. A successful roll-out includes creating universal aware - ness by informing all employees worldwide of any changes.

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One group of people is especially vital to the Datwyler Production System: the company’s employees. At Datwyler, people are the most important assets and are therefore given the highest priority. As one of five fundamental elements, Leadership and People Empower-ment is deeply ingrained into the Datwyler Production System. With open leader ship, we grant workplace ownership, empower our employees, and encourage them to take responsibility through the creation of trust and confidence in each other. We believe that empowered employees will create empowe red teams that, in turn, will help each team member grow and develop.

EMPOWERING EMPLOYEES

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The element Leadership and People Empowerment is governed by specific lean principles and supported by respective methods and tools that should guide the behavior of Datwyler employees to create a culture of focus, motivation, and team spirit.

Those principles are:

Go and see

Lead by example

Create a learning organization

Create transparency and act on facts

Empower and involve all people

Create clear roles and responsibilities

Follow a long-term plan and align targets and actions

These principles will be thoroughly embedded in Datwyler’s company culture – no matter what position an employee holds. To ensure that the Datwyler Production System is un-derstood and implemented, trainings will be offered to reduce complexities. By doing so, each employee will have the chance to fully grasp and subsequently apply the content of the Pro-duction System. Visualization and the chance for continuous communication will empower our employees to implement the DPS independently. Training brochures and other materi-als will be supplied, so employees can track their personal de-velopment and distill what they envision to be their personal essence.

To ensure continuous improvement and development, emplo-yees at all levels are encouraged to give feedback and input on the Datwyler Production System. Town hall meetings and team meetings will provide the opportunity for dialogue.

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CREATING CUSTOMER BENEFITS

The Datwyler Production System strives for operational excellence and continuous improvement – objectives that will create benefits for Datwyler customers in various ways.

The DPS places great importance on flow, meaning a stream-lined and continuous flow of value within manufacturing and all other company processes. This will eventually reduce and eliminate obstacles within the processes – meaning added value can be delivered to the customers. As a result, mutual trust can be built and a long-lasting, stable relationship can be established.

One key element of our six dimensions of operational excellence is delivery – all ordered products, on time, and of the highest quality. The lean production processes that are the foundation of the Datwyler Production System are reflected in lead times that are in line with the customer’s expectations, no matter what happens. The Production System is built on a long-term per-spective, ensuring Datwyler’s competitiveness in the future – no matter what the future holds.

Customers can deeply rely on the manufacturing and deli-very of products in regards to quality and lead time, offering them operational security and the benefit of profiting from the set standards at Datwyler. Future-proof technologies and efficient factory designs strongly pay into our reliable supply chain. Consistent results with predictable performance and quality are at the core of process stability, another import-ant cornerstone of the Datwyler Production System. The im-portance placed on waste reduction provides our customers with a responsible and sustainable supplier, securing valuable points of reliance along their supply chain. Ensuring that the Production System will be implemented in all of Datwyler’s operational sites gives our customers the security to fully rely on Datwyler – everywhere, every time.

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SUSTAINABLE CHANGE OF COMPANY CULTURE

The implementation of a Production System is a very complex and demanding task. It is equally challenging for the management and the project teams that developed and worked on the Datwyler Production System for a long time, as it is for the emplo-yees who will be learning about the DPS and implementing its new processes.

The involvement and support of the employees is vital to the successful roll-out and implementation of the Datwyler Production System and to the continuous improvement of Datwyler’s operations.

The basic framework of the DPS will be rolled out throughout the entire organization by the end of 2018. By then, every em-ployee will at least have received basic training by means of specially developed training materials. Everyone will be acti-vely involved in continuous improvement activities, with the ultimate objective of achieving operational excellence. It is important to understand that the introduction of the DPS will not only mean a change in the manufacturing process, but

will trigger a change in mindset and eventually bring along a change of our company culture. This kind of fundamental change is a long-term project, but the new operational excel-lence will finally be on a level that can be considered as best in class, from which employees, customers, and the management alike will benefit. The improved processes will become the new standards and will be enforced in every aspect of Datwyler’s production.

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«The Datwyler Production System was launched starting April 2017 through pilot projects in various sites. I can’t wait to see the employees working with the new Production System and am very excited to hear their feedback!»

www.datwyler.com