“Factory of the Year”: Roto Leinfelden-Echterdingen wins “Excellent Transformation: Location” category

The award recognizes the successful transformation of the long-established plant into a modern, high-performing and future-oriented production site. The combination of economic efficiency, agility and high delivery reliability, together with the consistent automation and digitalization of processes, particularly impressed the jury. Another key factor in the site’s success is the strong involvement of employees in its continuous development.

One of Europe’s most prestigious industry awards 

“Factory of the Year” is one of Europe’s most prestigious cross-industry awards for manufacturing excellence. The competition is organized by international management consultancy Kearney, Ultima Media and the German trade publication “Produktion”. It recognizes production sites that set benchmarks through outstanding performance and innovative approaches. More than 100 performance indicators are assessed across five dimensions: economic efficiency, operational excellence, agility, digitalization and sustainability.

The official award ceremony will take place during the 35th “Factory of the Year” congress on 9 and 10 March 2027. The award-winning plants will present their production strategies and provide insights into their transformation processes.

For Roto Window and Door Technology, participating in the competition for the first time was also a deliberate opportunity to benchmark the site’s performance. How does the plant compare directly with other industrial operations? Where do its particular strengths lie? And where is there further potential for improvement? Winning the category provides a strong answer to these questions.

“This award highlights what our teams have achieved together over the past few years. With ROPEX, we are pursuing a clear goal: We want to continuously develop our plants and permanently combine quality, on-time delivery, flexibility, and competitiveness. Winning the category award in Leinfelden-Echterdingen confirms that we are on the right track to consistently continue down this path,” emphasizes Dr. Stefan Thiemermann, Director of Global Operations.

ROPEX as the path to operational excellence

The company-wide production system ROPEX, the “Road to Operational Excellence,” forms the common methodological framework for the continuous development of the Roto Window and Door production plants. Shared standards, lean processes and clear principles provide the foundation for high-performing and competitive operations. These include a zero-defect mindset, efficient material and information flows throughout the entire value chain, as well as agility and transparency in processes. The aim is to continuously enhance the performance of the plants while maintaining the flexibility required to respond to changing market and customer requirements. The success in Leinfelden-Echterdingen demonstrates how this commitment is put into practice.

From a long-established site to a factory of the future

Leinfelden-Echterdingen is closely linked to Roto’s history. After the company acquired the site in 1948 and construction began in 1949, production started there in the summer of 1950. More than seven decades later, the site demonstrates how industrial tradition and modern manufacturing can be successfully combined.

Today, Leinfelden-Echterdingen is part of the global network of Roto Window and Door Technology, comprising 18 production plants, more than 30 sales locations and over 30 logistics distribution centers. 

Within this global network, the site combines decades of manufacturing expertise with modern production technologies. Automated assembly systems, robotics, digital processes and driverless transport systems indoors and outdoors now shape its operations. The site’s energy supply has also been further developed as part of its transformation. In addition to sourcing green electricity, a biomass heating plant contributes to a lower-emission heat supply.

Roto follows a clear principle: automation is not an end in itself. Modern technologies are deployed where they demonstrably improve processes. During their on-site visit, the competition experts particularly highlighted this pragmatic approach: combining technologically advanced systems with economical and efficient solutions. The company’s in-house toolmaking capabilities and expertise in cold forming also help retain important technical know-how and value creation at the site.

Almir Poric, Site and Plant Manager Leinfelden-Echterdingen, sees the award above all as recognition of a collective achievement: “Winning the category makes us proud. Above all, however, it is an award for our entire team. The development of our site is the result of many major and minor improvements that our employees drive forward every day with their expertise, experience and ideas. This motivates us to continue consistently along this path. And it demonstrates that competitive industrial production in Germany can be successful.”

Production and logistics working hand in hand

The Logistics Service Center in Leinfelden also plays an important role in the site’s overall performance. A broad range of finished goods is stocked there and made available as required for worldwide distribution. The Service Center supplies other Roto distribution centers while also delivering directly to customers.

An automated small-parts warehouse, driverless transport systems and modern warehouse management systems ensure fast, precise and fully coordinated processes. This also enables complex orders comprising numerous different items to be handled efficiently. At the same time, stocking a broad product range provides the basis for a very high level of product availability.

“High-performing logistics are essential to fulfilling our delivery promise to our customers. That is why we continuously develop our processes to respond flexibly to increasingly dynamic requirements. Our ambition is clear, we want to always serve our customers reliably and in line with their needs. To achieve this, people, technology and processes must work together seamlessly,” says Michael Bogner, Head of Logistics Service Center Leinfelden-Echterdingen.