VINCORION Named Business of Excellence

The industry award for innovative production and logistics solutions was presented in Gerlingen near Stuttgart, and VINCORION received an award in the “Customer Focus” category. The benchmarking competition for “best practices” in the industry is supported by the German Logistics Association.

The award is presented each year by an independent jury of experts made up of former MX winners under the scientific direction of the Technical University of Berlin. It recognizes innovative production and logistics solutions. The aim of the award is to strengthen Germany as an industrial location by identifying best practices, promoting cross-industry collaboration, and creating a platform for exchange.

Technology company VINCORION specializes in power systems for safety-critical applications – including generators, electric motors and drives, gensets, power electronics, and hybrid power systems. Specific customer requirements are part and parcel of VINCORION’s daily business.

Products Have a Long Service Life

Whether in the air, on the rails, or in military use, solutions from VINCORION must be able to withstand extreme loads. The products are usually in use for several decades and must function reliably over a long product life cycle. As these are all highly regulated areas of application, compliance with a wide range of certifications, guidelines, and standards of quality is a basic prerequisite.

“Our customer focus is therefore based on several pillars: collaboration as partners, in-depth dialogue, and long-term service. To this end, we not only constantly monitor the market in order to meet our customers’ expectations as precisely as possible, but also make customer satisfaction measurable on the basis of specific key figures,” explains Dr. Stefan Stenzel, Managing Director of VINCORION.

Customer Satisfaction as a Measurable Metric

In order to make customer satisfaction comparable on the basis of key figures, VINCORION restructured the company. For this purpose, discussions were held with the nearly fifteen most important customers, in which they disclosed their needs and desires with respect to customer support. Based on this feedback, VINCORION developed new structures and processes. For example, each “top customer” was assigned a key account manager as a point of contact to handle all their concerns and develop a deeper understanding of the customer and their business.

Together, up to four metrics were defined to make customer satisfaction measurable: These include: 1) Adherence to deadlines: Will the product be delivered on time by the agreed upon date? 2) Adherence to ordered quantities: Will the agreed upon quantities be delivered? 3) Complaint rate: Did any errors occur within the warranty period? 4) Communication: Were potential deviations communicated to the customer at an early stage? Once a quarter, customers submit an evaluation of these criteria according to a points system. Finally, VINCORION’s self-assessment and the customer’s external assessment are compared.

Ideas for Product Advancements

VINCORION has been an established supplier for many years, such as for the hydraulic rescue hoist for the NH90 helicopter, which is used in alpine emergencies or rescue missions in flooded areas. In discussions and interviews with helicopter manufacturers and users, the team received ideas for ways to improve the existing product. On this basis, they are working on a new electric rescue hoist, the ERH premier^v, which sets new standards in terms of performance, reliability, and safety.

The Leopard 2 is a good example of just how long VINCORION technologies have been in service – the very first units were deployed by the German Armed Forces at the turn of the year 1979/80, and the tank is still in service. VINCORION supplies the weapon aiming and stabilization system for the Leopard 2. In this context, the company uses easy-to-maintain assemblies and modular systems. In addition, the company considered and made the technical preparations needed to allow for further development right from the start.

Maintaining Technology Used for the Long Term

“We face the constant challenge of thinking ahead and developing new products. At the same time, we often have to maintain technology that has been in use for a long time and constantly adapt it to changing challenges,” emphasizes Dr. Stenzel. “The results of the MX Award benchmarking competition provide us with further valuable input in this regard, enabling us to leverage optimization potential at VINCORION and position ourselves for the future even better as a company.”

Registration for the MX Award for the year 2023 is open.

Klaus Lübbers (DIRKS Group), Dr. Manfred Jagiella (Endress+Hauser Gruppe), Marco Lienau (VINCORION), Marcus Golchert (VINCORION), Dr.-Ing. Daniel Roy (MX) und Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thomas Wimmer (MX) are happy about the award (from right to left).

Photo: Marcus Krüger

Media Contact:
Florian Hanauer
PR Manager
VINCORION Advanced Systems GmbH
Feldstrasse 155
22880 Wedel, Germany
Phone: +49 4103 60-2250
Mail: florian.hanauer@vincorion.com

And the Silver Medal goes to VINCORION – the technology company from Wedel, near Hamburg, Germany, was recognized by consulting firm EcoVadis for its sustainable corporate management efforts. The EcoVadis “Sustainabilty Rating” looked at companies’ activities in the areas of the environment, labor and human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement. VINCORION came in at the 74^th percentile and received the “Silver Medal,” scoring better than or equal to 74 percent of the companies evaluated by EcoVadis.

EU Requirements Call for Sustainability Reports

The Paris-based certification company operates as an independent sustainability assessment firm. This involves evaluating companies’ efforts in fields such as sustainability and corporate social responsibility. “Sustainability is one of our top priorities. In the process, we were immediately able to win a silver medal” says a delighted Dr. Stefan Stenzel, VINCORION’s managing director. “This is an amazing achievement built on the hard work and dedication of many of our employees.”

Stenzel went on to explain that sustainable business practices are, of course, an extremely important issue for society as a whole, since climate change affects everyone. Current EU legislation is also gradually obligating companies to enshrine sustainable goals in their corporate governance. The issue is a topic of discussion at many companies, including industrial firms, as Stefan Stenzel reports.

The EU currently requires stock corporations to prepare a sustainability report. But beginning next year, this obligation will apply to companies with more than 3,000 employees, and beginning in 2024, to companies with more than 1,000 employees. Afterward, presumably starting in 2025, larger SMEs will be required to prepare a sustainability report. These reports will also need to be independently certified, for example by auditors.

“Positioning themselves properly in this respect is a challenge for medium-sized industrial companies. We tried to get an early start on this because many customers now also ask for sustainability ratings,” notes Stenzel. This is because the larger companies, for their part, are obligated to evaluate the sustainability of their suppliers.

What Sustainability Is All About

This highlights the complexity of the issue of sustainability at companies, including in the defense industry. “CSR stands for corporate social responsibility, which is all about how socially responsible a company is,” says Astrid Biesterfeldt, Director Corporate Development at VINCORION.

The abbreviation ESG stands for environment, social, and governance. This involves assessing a company’s social environment, such as its corporate culture. Governance refers to whether a company is managed correctly, such as adhering to compliance regulations. “The abbreviation for these three areas together is ESG,” summarizes Biesterfeldt.

Incidentally, this isn’t just about the climate, but also about social issues: “Both areas are covered,” explains Biesterfeldt. “When it comes to social issues, fair working conditions play an important role, such as collective bargaining agreements, training and development opportunities, and flexible working hours. Occupational health and safety is also important.”

VINCORION’s Strengths Range from the Environment to Social Issues

According to the EcoVadis ranking, VINCORION’s strengths in the area of the environment include, for example, the safe disposal of hazardous materials, the reduction of internal waste through, for example, recycling, the purification of wastewater, and that the company procures power from renewable sources, to name just a few points. In the social category, flexible work schedules were particularly emphasized, for example through the use of flexitime and the ability to work from home. Preventive health care, regular employee training, and a transparent recruiting process were also counted among the company’s strengths.

When it comes to ethics, the assessment lists information security risk assessments as a positive, as well as third-party anti-corruption due diligence and specific approval procedures for sensitive transactions, such as gifts and travel. Finally, the company has a sustainability code of conduct for suppliers in place and regularly conducts supplier assessments covering environmental and social practices.

But the company can also open up new opportunities if it focuses even more on sustainability. “If we further intensify our activities around social issues, we’ll make the company even more attractive to employees and applicants,” explains Biesterfeldt. “And with strong sustainability ratings, we are also more attractive to customers because they also have an obligation to pay attention to ESG criteria in the supply chain. Customers are already starting to do this.”

Biesterfeldt advises SMEs not to underestimate the organizational effort involved. “Collecting all the data is quite a task.” The proof always comes in the form of a certificate, a process description, or key figures from the systems. “A note on this is not enough. Documents must clearly demonstrate that the company is addressing the issues of the environment, human and labor rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement. There’s a lot of extra work involved the first time around.” VINCORION, for example, is currently conducting a survey among employees about the means of transportation they use to get to work. The results from the three VINCORION sites in Germany can then be incorporated into future assessments.

The company also wants to get its employees even more involved in the future. In a company video, Biesterfeldt explains why sustainability is so important. “Anyone and everyone can contribute, whether by submitting suggestions or their own behavior at the workplace,” she emphasizes.

The Goal Is to Improve Every Year

VINCORION now wants to make improvements year after year. “You also have to venture into new areas if you want to continually strengthen the company’s sustainability efforts.” For example, the company could review its internal policies. All those responsible are members of a CSR Board, which meets on a regular basis to discuss the suggestions for improvement.

“We addressed the issue with our experts as a team,” summarizes Biesterfeldt for VINCORION. “That worked out great. The certification is now valid for a year and then in a year at the next assessment, we’ll know what’s coming.”

EcoVadis uses 21 sustainability criteria to examine how responsibly companies operate in the areas of the environment, labor and human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement. More than 90,000 companies from 200 industries in 160 countries worldwide cooperate with EcoVadis.

Further information

A current overview of our company is available on our website at https://www.vincorion.com/en/unternehmensportrait/.

Media Contact:

Florian Hanauer
PR-Manager
VINCORION Advanced Systems GmbH
Feldstrasse 155
22880 Wedel, Germany
Phone: +49 4103 60-2250
Mail: florian.hanauer@vincorion.com