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2018-04-05

Yazaki in Klaipeda continues to expand: 200 more specialists are required

05 Apr 2018

Yazaki, the global manufacturer of wire harnesses, is looking for a further 200 specialists for its Klaipėda free economic zone (FEZ) facility. The company is currently at work with an extensive project for Mercedes–Benz, for which it requires an additional workforce of 400. Happy with the completion of its first stage of staff expansion – during which it managed to find 200 specialists in less than two months – Yazaki is now setting its sights on hiring another 200 in the coming months. The company has more than 1,200 employees at present.

“Our rather ambitious plan was to find 200 new employees who would meet our requirements in a very short period. It was the first time that we are using the services of a recruitment company. We are glad that we’ve managed to achieve that initial goal in a shorter time than we expected – our advertisements for new talent attracted a great deal of attention and interest,” commented Jurgita Galinskienė, Deputy General Manager of Yazaki.

“Most of the newly employed staff comes from Klaipėda. However, we were also looking for new employees from the surrounding areas – Kretinga, Priekulė, Gargždai -as many as one third of the new employees come from these towns. We have many new employees who’ve just graduated from universities. We are happy to open the door to the labour market for them. We are also happy that we’ve been able to hire Lithuanians who have returned home from abroad,” Mrs. Galinskienė added.

According to Eimantas Kiudulas, General Director of Klaipėda FEZ, the previous year also the number of employees grow in other companies in the FEZ community. Albright Lietuva, Retal Baltic, Neo Group and Ani Plast expanded their workforce by a hundred or more.

Lithuanian know-how shared across Yazaki’s global operations

The model manufacturing process for the production of single-type wire harnesses for Mercedes–Benz that was developed in Lithuania is already being used in Yazaki’s facility in Bulgaria. Here, local employees trained by their Lithuanian colleagues manufacture part of the output for Daimler. Currently, Lithuanian engineers are currently working on analogous processes in Serbia.

“The car manufacturing cycle takes several years, so we began preparation for this Mercedes–Benz project two years ago. We have put together a team for this project that comprises a pool of experienced engineers, alongside newly qualified engineers who have been trained to meet the company’s exacting standards. We already have a team of experienced professionals and newcomers, including process engineers, technologists, and quality specialists and professionals specialising in other fields newcomers, who have developed a range of prototype products and established an entire model for how these products are produced. This model includes the ordering of raw materials, manufacturing technologies and the conciliation of the relevant processes, staff training, quality control system and many other fields,” the Deputy General Manager of Yazaki explained.

The team responsible for the manufacturing of wire harnesses for Mercedes–Benz encompasses a wide spectrum of specialisations. Within its ranks are 60 highly skilled technology, equipment, process, quality engineers with such qualifications as technologists, electronic specialists, automation specialists, electricians, etc. All are professionals with some experience in the field, and all have been trained by the company to meet its high professional standards.

This is not the first time that a manufacturing model developed by Yazaki’s team in Lithuania has been transferred to Yazaki’s global operations. The Lithuanian team was also responsible for the integration of the facility acquired in Russia. The team has been responsible for dissemination of its know-how to all of Yazaki facilities that manufacture products for Volvo. This is, indeed, proof of the ambition and quality of the Lithuanian engineers. In the words of Mrs. Galinskienė, “We seek to expand the scope of activities that generate substantial added value and become a method laboratory for the group”.

The second stage of expansion began in March

Yazaki launched the second stage of its staff expansion in March, when it began the search for 200 additional specialists. The personal qualities of the candidates will be top of the agenda when it comes to sourcing the right kind of talent for Yazaki. “We value a sense of responsibility in our employees. The automotive industry is associated with great risk to human health and life, and even minor mistakes can lead to dire consequences. Therefore, it is important that our employees always remain watchful and show initiative in improving processes that guarantee the highest quality. This is what we value most. It is these qualities, combined with an accurateness that is common to Lithuanians, which are among the reasons why Yazaki’s facility in Lithuania consistently delivers the highest rating for quality according to Yazaki’s internal policy for its European factories,” said Deputy General Manager of Yazaki.

Yazaki employees enjoy free transport to the factory and also receive high-quality partly subsidized meals in the Yazaki canteen. Great attention is dedicated to providing a safe working environment and ergonomic workstations – with the company’s environmental requirements being even stricter than those prescribed by the laws of Lithuania or EU regulations. The company is also heavily involved in a range of social projects that bond them even more closely with their staff– environmental initiatives, blood donations, and aid to children’s homes, amongst many more.

For Eimantas Kiudulas, General Director of Klaipėda FEZ, fostering a sense of community by offering services and out of work activities is an essential part of the FEZ’s on-going development: “We are constantly working to secure an attractive infrastructure for our employees and offer a great variety of community activities. We are laying cycle tracks, and next year, people will be able to easily reach us from the city by bike. City Bee car sharing services are also available here and there is a café on our grounds. Soon, we’ll have a yoga room for employees of our community. We are also exploring the possibility of opening a kindergarten on site. For a number of years, we’ve been contributing to football tournaments for the companies at Klaipėda FEZ. This year, we offered an opportunity to participate in a sweepstake for the Dakar Rally team that we support. Our community even met with the team this last week. “

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