Changes and the reorganization of the production: Marco Spinucci, responsible for Las production, tells us about it.
The Furniture and Design sector is one of the three strategical sectors of Italian production and was really affected by the lockdown in terms of turnover reduction.
Marco Spinucci, responsible for Las production, explains us how the company managed to quickly and efficiently get back on track.
Closing without losing competitiveness. Was it possible? And how did Las cope with the lockdown?
It was hard, no doubt about this, although we managed to get back to work in all our factories.
Back in April, Las started to consider important investments to make the production more flexible, foreseeing a rise in the contract and furniture sector.
Unfortunately, uncertainty about the future caused by the pandemic forced the company to temporarily put the biggest investment plans on hold, prioritizing its current clients and people safety, both inside Las and outside.
What changed and how did you reorganize production? Did the changes only occur in the Poggio Morello factory or also Tortoreto?
Las factories are wide enough to ensure social distancing even in normal conditions.
However, actions were taken in collaboration with trade union representatives for companies to prevent the risk of infection and ensure ongoing sanification of working places.
All employees promptly responded to these measures without creating problems and once again this shows how the biggest asset in a company is the human resources, people who are experienced, competent and passionate about their job
What risks did you have to face?
I believe difficulties came from two sides. One was related to the market, which proved even more unstable and difficult to interpret; the second concerned the supply chain, which experienced serious difficulties in the second semester of 2020 and repercussions are still to be seen today.
Can we say that Las is more and more oriented towards Lean Thinking?
Las has been on a path towards Lean Thinking for many years already.
A fundamental principle in Lean Thinking is Continuous Improvement, although this very unusual situation experienced with Covid-19 made us realize that, besides continuous improvement, quick adaptation is also required to stay competitive while facing ever changing scenarios in external contexts. I have to say after all the company managed to adapt quickly and efficiently to the new needs and situations, gaining a more in-depth know how to be successful in the coming years, in addition to the expertise developed in the past.