Picture: Last WCM physical mission in Japan. Visit to Takaoka Chemical, November 2019

The 51st edition of the World Class Manufacturing mission will take place from 13 to 17 March 2023 in Nagoya, Japan. Beforehand, the 15 selected participants will have had the pleasure of receiving a debriefing about the mission schedule and a cross-cultural lecture related to the Japanese business etiquette.

Participant feedback from WCM March 2022-online edition

“It was a great experience for me to participate in the WCM programme. While I a work in an office environment outside of the factory, I still sporadically visit our factories to exchange on projects. The insights I gained during this programme will help me make better use of such visits. I feel that I have the right tools at hand to identify improvement opportunities and help operators remove bottlenecks. I see the difference in approach that Japanese companies take compared with European companies. It is important now to understand which approach can be implemented easily to start a mindset change. Continuous improvement is something that everybody can facilitate and that brings great benefits to manufacturing, the Supply Chain and entire corporations.” Johannes Holtbruegge, Senior Manager Digital Transformation, Henkel, Netherlands

“I believe that anybody that has the opportunity of attending a WCM training organized by the EU-Japan Centre will greatly benefit from the learnings imparted, regardless of the industry they are in. The principles are all mostly transferable and applicable.” Jorge Silva, Managing Director, Plastic Educa, Portugal