Rexam savings underpinned by lean manufacturing

Reporting on the beverage can manufacturer's performance, chief executive Graham Chipchase said that Rexam had achieved another year of good cost savings. "The £26m [savings] achieved in 2012 from continuing operations came from three main areas: reduction in material usage, especially aluminium and process optimisation through the deeply embedded tools and methodologies of lean manufacturing and Six Sigma to improve productivity and reduce scrap; and the centralisation of our procurement organisation which will help ensure that we capitalise fully on our global footprint and manage our metal, other direct material costs and capital equipment expenditure more efficiently going forward," he continued. "Using lean tools, Six Sigma and global best practice sharing, we have managed to increase line speeds at a number of plants which has resulted in lower investment or the postponement of further expenditure to a later date." Rexam reported a 2% increase in sales to £4.3bn in 2012 while pre-tax profit was up 1% at £418m.