The award is considered the most traditional and demanding competition for the manufacturing industry in Germany and Europe. In the 33rd production benchmark competition, the fischer group of companies was delighted to win in the GEO Award (Global Excellence in Operations) category for its production plant in Ivanovice na Hané in the Czech Republic. Just in time for the site's 30th anniversary, the award recognises its outstanding operational excellence along the entire value chain. 

‘The award is the highlight of our 30-year history in Ivanovice na Hané,’ says Prof Klaus Fischer, owner of the fischer group of companies. ‘The Factory of the Year is like the Champions League for manufacturing companies. We can be very proud of this honour.’ Above all, however, it is a special honour for all employees at the Czech site. ‘Our Managing Director in the Czech Republic, Mr Vladimir Hudec, and his team have done an outstanding job over the past few years. Receiving the award is impressive confirmation of this.’ Prof Fischer continues: ‘Our plant in Ivanovice na Hané also serves as a role model and benchmark for all of our company's other production sites.’

The ‘GEO Award’ stands for ‘Global Excellence in Operations’ and is one of the most sought-after awards for European companies. The award recognises outstanding operational excellence along the entire value chain and a particularly high level of value generation. Every year, the management consultancy Kearney, in cooperation with the trade journal Produktion and Süddeutscher Verlag Veranstaltungen GmbH, honours the plants that master current production challenges in an exemplary manner in six categories. 

Vladimír Hudec, Managing Director of fischer Vyškov spol. s r.o., and thus of the production facility in Ivanovice na Hané, emphasises: ‘We are overjoyed to have won in the “GEO Award” category. Our years of intensive work have paid off. And when I say ‘our work’, I mean all our colleagues in Ivanovice na Hané and Tumlingen working together. This success would not have come about otherwise. We are fischer, we are a global family, we are one. One for all, all for one.’

Maximilian Bronner, Managing Director of Production and Technology at the Group, agrees: ‘The site in Ivanovice na Hané has developed extremely well in recent years. The keys to this success are, on the one hand, our fischer Process System, which was implemented in an exemplary manner in Ivanovice na Hané, and, on the other hand, the outstanding team performance of the Czech team. We see this achievement as proof of the successful implementation of our production strategy and the award as an incentive to continue working on improving all processes on a daily basis - at all of our nine production sites worldwide.’

The 33rd ‘Factory of the Year’ congress will take place on 18 and 19 March 2025 at the Forum am Schlosspark in Ludwigsburg. The awards will be officially presented to the winners during a gala evening.