Yesterday, September 29, Philips Drachten became second in the European Industrial Excellence Award election. The election was held during the annual Industrial Excellence Conference in Ludwigsburg, Germany. The prize is an initiative of renowned international business schools, such as Eindhoven University of Technology, INSEAD in France and WHU in Germany. Rob Karsmakers has represented our site.

Because Philips Drachten won the national Industrial Excellence Award 2015 for the best industrial site in the Netherlands in June, we were allowed to participate in the battle for the European title. We received this national prize based on a very favorable jury report. “Philips Drachten is an advanced Lean site that makes smart use of innovations in the manufacturing industry. The site thus shows that Smart Industry has a good future in the Netherlands. In addition to developing and producing high-quality products, the site attaches great importance to sustainability and social responsibility,” according to the jury.

Tough Competition
There was stiff competition in the European election, we had to compete with the seven best nominated industrial organizations from the participating countries. The final battle was ultimately between Philips Drachten and Bentley Motors from the UK. With a minimal difference, Bentley won and we achieved an honorable second place. Rob Karsmakers: “We are very proud of that, a nice gift and recognition for our great site so shortly before my last working day as manager of the site!”

In Ludwigsburg we also received the Dutch Award. (See picture.)