This new staff unit will be headed by Carlotta Rossi Luciani, already a member of the Group’s board of directors and now appointed as group head of lean management. In this role, Carlotta Rossi Luciani will report directly to the general manager, Giandomenico Lombello.

Carlotta Rossi Luciani stated: 'Carel was one of the pioneers of lean in north-east Italy, with our interest in this philosophy dating back to the early nineties. In the company, lean has always been seen as a way to overcome the barriers to change and to demonstrate, through its results, that the application of continuous improvement is essential to keep the company alive. Over time, this approach has made us much stronger.”

Rossi Luciani continued: 'The 'group lean management' staff unit will allow us to further strengthen the importance of lean philosophy across the company, at all organisational levels and at all latitudes.'

The interest in lean philosophy blossomed in Carel in the early nineties, and has been operational since the beginning of 2007. It is an approach based on continuous improvement, aimed at increasing customer value by reducing waste.

Carel has interpreted lean not as a project with a beginning and an end, but rather as a philosophy that permeates all activities and business areas, a method that involves people and places them at the centre of all improvement activities.