Sustainability
For Rieter, sustainability is a major aspect of corporate management. Since 1997 Rieter has adhered to environmental and safety principles that reflect the company’s commitment to ustainable development. For Rieter, sustainability includes acting responsibly in relation to the environment and natural resources, managing personnel with consideration and engaging in dialog with official bodies and the local population at its sites. Rieter collects all data of relevance for the sustainable management of the company in the SEED (Social, Economic and Environmental Data) database. These are analyzed annually in order to assess Rieter’s sustainability performance. The sustainability report can be found on the website at www.rieter.com under the heading of «Sustainability».
The environment
Rieter makes considerable efforts to ensure that the environmental impact of the products manufactured by the company throughout their life cycle is as small as possible. For this purpose Rieter also develops production processes that enable more effective and efficient utilization of the raw materials used. An important priority in the development of new machines is the reduction of energy consumption. In 2011 Rieter launched a new concept for blowroom machinery which enabled energy consumption to be reduced by 37% compared with the predecessor model. The new R 60 rotor spinning machine consumes 10% less energy than its predecessor.
A topical example:
Requirement: reduced energy consumption
Response: energy-efficiency in spinning preparation
Rieter launched the new C 70 generation of cards in November 2010. The production performance of the C 70 is more than 40% higher than that of the predecessor model. Compared with a conventional spinning preparation line, more than 112 000 kWh of electricity can be saved annually with the C 70 card, equivalent to a reduction of 16.5%. The power saved in this way could heat nine residential buildings with a floor area of 150 m2 each for a whole year in a central European climate.
Personnel
Industrial safety
In 2010 Rieter again conducted a series of training courses in industrial safety, including a comprehensive course at its location in India. Training is intended to increase the awareness of risk among responsible personnel, so that they identify hazards at an early stage and take purposeful preventive action. The three main topics of these training courses are accident prevention, risk awareness and a general increase in knowledge. Further priorities are fire safety, industrial safety, environmental protection and emergency management.
Code of Conduct
Rieter revised its Code of Conduct in the year under review, taking into account customers’ current requirements and the OECD guidelines for companies operating internationally. The code of conduct remains an integral part of the contract of employment. Familiarity with it is regularly tested by means of an e-learning program. Members of top management were again examined in the year under review. In this way Rieter ensures that all those in positions of leadership are also familiar with the principles of conduct and communicate them to their employees.The full Code of Conduct can be found here.
Personnel development / Change management
In the field of management development a group-wide management training program entitled “Corporate Management Training” and various further training sessions in the divisions are conducted annually. Training modules under the headings of Values & Principles, Strategy, Human Resources and Corporate Culture are attended by managers worldwide. Rieter had to adjust its structures to prevailing market conditions in response to the slump in 2008 and 2009. This process was monitored by Change Management Workshops in the context of a reorganization project. The goal was to provide support to those involved in the process of change and to point out the opportunities presented by this realignment. Global in-house interchange was also to be encouraged. A total of six, three-day seminars were held at the sites in Winterthur, Changzhou, Ingolstadt and Pune.
Promoting vocational training in IndiaRieter is playing an active role in the development and implementation of the VET (Vocational Education and Training) concept in India, which has been initiated by the Swiss Federal Office for Vocational Training and Technology and the Swiss-Indian Chamber of Commerce. This initiative offers young Indians an opportunity to undertake an internationally recognized technical apprenticeship. This is based on the successful Swiss vocational training concept and is adapted to the needs of the location in cooperation with local authorities, trade associations and companies operating in India. Rieter has many years of experience with production facilities in India and can make an especially valuable contribution to the development of the concept.
Customers
Rieter conducts monthly surveys of customer satisfaction in order to respond even more effectively to customers’ needs and requirements. These surveys are made in different stages: after the contract of sale has been concluded, after the machine has been commissioned and after the warranty has expired. The personalized surveys enable an immediate response to be made.
Rieter frequently organizes specific events at various locations in order to be able to respond better to customers’ requirements and to enhance their technical know-how. In 2010 these included a customer conference in China on the subject of rotor spinning machines.
Sustainability Report (English/PDF/223 KB)