There are no shortcuts on the road to excellence – only continuous learning, collaboration, and improvement.
In October 2025, the foundry team of Impol LLT received the prestigious TPM SMART Award at the AKJ Automotive Conference in Saarbrücken. The award, presented by Professor Klaus Schmidt, recognizes organizations that have achieved exceptional progress in productivity, reliability, and improvement culture.
This recognition confirms that Impol’s foundry has become a leading example of comprehensive transformation based on the principles of TPM (Total Productive Maintenance).
The TPM SMART approach is part of the Impol Group’s broader Excellence Project, launched in 2021 to strengthen the culture of continuous improvement, collaboration, and innovation across all group companies. Through persistence, dedication, and teamwork, Impol’s employees have been building the foundations of a new mindset and higher levels of efficiency.
Among all participating teams, the foundry of Impol LLT stood out as the best-practice example, achieving remarkable progress through its results, structured approach, and strong team spirit.
Over the past four years, the Impol LLT team has implemented more than 600 improvements, introduced TPM, 5S, SFM, SMED projects, developed OEE tracking for casting lines, and laid the foundations for digital transformation and smart maintenance. These efforts have led to measurable improvements in OEE performance, reduced downtime, increased reliability, and the introduction of innovative solutions and new product families.
Behind this success stands a dedicated team: Jure Čretnik, Simon Brglez, Andrej Leskovar, Niko Turšič, and Matic Založnik, supported by the Lean Office led by Urban Smolar and more than 90 colleagues from Impol LLT. Together, they have demonstrated that the true power of change lies in people – in their creativity, engagement, and shared commitment to improvement.
💡 At Impol, we believe that excellence is not a destination, but a journey – one we build together, step by step, every day.
