Customers and staff centre stage
The Dutch firm Van De Vin Ramen en Kozijnen (windows and frames) is a real family business that operates as a B2B supplier, delivering 100 wooden window frames, glazed and varnished, every day to contractors nationwide operating mainly in the residential construction sector.
Sixty years ago the company started up as a small carpentry workshop in the back garden of the Van De Vin family. Today Van De Vin Ramen en Kozijnen is a hyper-modern, streamlined carpentry factory with a workforce of 85. Despite this fast growth, Van De Vin remains a family business with short communication lines that places the customer and the staff centre stage. Intrinsic motivation is hugely important, as can be seen from the standards and values board that is signed by every member of staff and hangs strategically at the entrance.
Sustainability as the guide
Van De Vin deliberately opted for one sort of FSC-certified European hardwood. The new management brings in a great deal of experience in the field of sustainable business practices and circular production, two things that will play a major role in the future. The company aims to develop its sustainability further in the coming years. The explosive growth in business seen over the past few years called for greater efficiency at Van De Vin.
Bertil Kremers (Production Manager) and Frank Jansen (Head of Business Operations Office) explain how they achieved this and how Roto and DEVENTER Profielen, trusted suppliers for over 20 years, played their part.
“As flexible lean and QRM partners, Roto and DEVENTER contribute to our higher turnover.”
Streamlined and just in time
In order to scale up efficiently and productively, about eight years ago Van De Vin introduced the principles of lean working and QRM (Quick Response Manufacturing). ‘With lean practices and QRM, everything is more streamlined and done in a smaller space, and we generate more turnover’, says Frank Jansen.
His colleague Bertil Kremers agrees: ‘Thanks to the efficient QRM method, which DEVENTER Profielen applies too, we have considerably shortened our lead time. We constantly work at 80% of our capacity and adopt the just-in-time principle. That means we don’t have to store any finished end products, which saves us space. As we work with one sort of wood, we also save ourselves countless stock management headaches.’
You don’t do lean alone
Van De Vin is totally convinced by QRM and lean working and encourages its suppliers to adopt the same philosophy. ‘Without our vinGarant partners (such as Roto and DEVENTER) – because that’s what we call our suppliers – we can’t turn out small batches. And we can’t respond flexibly to customers’ requests, either. Thanks to our collaboration with Roto and DEVENTER, we can supply an order in just 12 days.
Small orders are never a problem and everything is done digitally. That’s how we can guarantee our customers this short lead time’, Kremers says. ‘Our supplier of Roto hardware and DEVENTER profiles, Destil, adopts the same attitude to logistics as us’, Jansen adds. ‘For example, they now supply the hardware as separate elements, too. That means we don’t waste time unpacking and we don’t have to deal with plastic packaging material.’
“Their products quite simply also offer the best value for money and meet the very latest, most stringent standards.”
Trusting in quality
Van De Vin chooses Roto and DEVENTER for more than just their flexibility. ‘Their products quite simply also offer the best value for money and meet the very latest, most stringent standards’, says Jansen. ‘This means we can promise our customers the right guarantees with peace of mind. There may be cheaper suppliers, but we hardly ever have any complaints. For us, that’s the most important thing. After five years our windows are still in perfect condition. This means we can face competitors with plastic or aluminium window frames confidently.’
Own test centre in Germany
The service and expertise provided by Roto and DEVENTER are a great asset for Van De Vin, as well. ‘Roto has its own test centre in Germany. There they help look for new solutions. For example, together we developed our vinSlide with the Patio Inowa system, and DEVENTER worked with us to create a special profile for extra seal. That really showed us the expertise that Roto and DEVENTER have in house.’
Thanks partly to their strong vinGarant partners, Van De Vin supplies optimal products and service all along the chain. In acknowledgement of this, they were elected Partner of the Year at Dura Vermeer, a Dutch construction company with a turnover of over EUR 1 billion.
If you have a project where testing and development will be required, ask your Roto representative about the support available from Roto.
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