Following an earlier award in 2019, Niko can call itself a 'Factory of the Future' for the second time. The Belgian market leader in switching material, home automation, access control and lighting control was awarded this distinction by Agoria. With this award, the technology federation honours Belgian businesses that distinguish themselves with a future-oriented vision and way of working. The jury praised Niko for its innovative labour organisation and major focus on sustainability.
The manufacturing industry has been in the perfect storm in recent times: rising material prices, serious automatic pay indexing and fluctuating energy tariffs. Nonetheless, with 87 billion euros in added value, the manufacturing sector is among the most important sectors in the Belgian economy. Innovation and digitalisation are therefore essential in maintaining and strengthening the competitive position of Belgian manufacturing companies internationally.
In order to reward companies that are making special efforts to that end, this now marks the tenth time that Agoria has issued the 'Factory of the Future award'. Following an earlier triumph in 2019, the honour has now gone to Niko for a second time.
If you want to grow in the manufacturing industry, you need to invest in the broadest sense of the word. In sustainability, in optimising business processes, in the software used, but above all in recruiting, retaining and training people.
Own academy
Because it is thanks to these special efforts in people terms that Niko has managed to rack up the award for a second time. For instance, there was the inauguration of its own ‘Niko Academy’ – an in-house training centre where staff receive all manner of training or refresher courses.
From proper onboarding, to the online learning platform with self-created training on various workplaces, new technologies, quality and safety, introductions to a range of software packages, along with training on soft skills and language courses for staff who speak other languages.
Niko also collaborates with multiple high schools and colleges on work placements, dual learning and workplace learning.
Digital Production Assistant
With the introduction of the Digital Production Assistant, Niko is making its staff's jobs easier too. The Digital Production Assistant is a unified software system, with a clear interface, which is used on all the machines and for all the processes at the factory.
This allows operators to work more autonomously and monitor a project from A to Z. The Digital Production Assistant also makes it easier for Niko to train staff at its own Niko Academy.
Operators can also give their own feedback following a technical fault in the system, meaning other operators can act more quickly and independently if the same fault recurs.
“At Niko, we are firmly convinced that self-training is the way forward. Thanks to our Niko Academy, we can train our staff ourselves in the specific skills they need at our company. Through also offering constant refresher training, our staff can keep growing, they gain more responsibility at their own pace and they can switch flexibly between different types of jobs, which has a motivational effect. As such, digitalisation does not result in job losses, but it does make jobs more meaningful and future-proof."
– Els Versluys, HR Business Partner at Niko
Sustainability
Besides everything to do with the innovative labour organisation, Niko is also being honoured for its far-reaching efforts in terms of sustainability. For example, the factory has made some major efforts in recent years to be even more sustainable: brand-new solar panels on the factory's roof, 1,000 m² of green roof, a smart energy management system, an electric vehicle fleet, energy-sharing, and rainwater and heat recovery.
Moreover, the entire production process has become greener. Thanks to its many efforts, Niko is generating three times as much of its own electricity than before. On sunny days, Niko's factory is even energy-positive.
