The Organisation:
Farrel Ltd, part of the HF Mixing Group, is a multinational organisation providing innovative solutions to the rubber processing industry. Their UK operation, based in Rochdale, Lancashire, engineers and manufactures high-end rubber mixing machinery, including the renowned Banbury mixer. With a turnover of approximately £50 million and a workforce of around 200 employees, the Rochdale site plays a critical role in delivering high-quality solutions to its customers.
The Challenge:
The two directors of Farrel Ltd, Ian Butterworth and Peter Rowe, recognised their business could operate more effectively to meet the increasing demands of their customers. They sought external expertise from The Excellence Partnership (TXP) to help analyse, challenge, and implement improved ways of working across the organisation.
The Approach:
TXP supported Farrel through deploying their Cost Optimisation Programme (COP), outlined in the steps below:
- Value stream analysis and identification of Opportunities for Improvement (OfIs)
- Setting up the improvement framework and agreeing OfI workstreams
- Creating a comprehensive improvement plan for the whole COP
- Enabling the implementation of a wide range of improvements throughout the business
- Setting up and carrying out regular progress reviews to manage the programme
- Carrying out an end of programme review to capture lessons learnt and further improvement opportunities
- Handing over the programme to the Farrel team
The Outcome:
The improvements made have significantly enhanced Farrel Ltd’s efficiency and effectiveness across all areas of the business, positioning the company for sustained growth and improved customer responsiveness.
Peter Rowe, Director of Farrel Ltd, stated: “The Excellence Partnership’s structured and hands-on approach has been instrumental in driving real improvements across our business. Their Cost Optimisation Programme has delivered significant efficiencies throughout the business. We are now in a stronger position to meet our customers’ demands with a more effective and streamlined operation.”.