Selected engagements across Europe and Asia

Every interim mandate I take on is defined by three things: a clear business challenge, a committed timeline and a measurable outcome. Below is a selection of engagements from the past decade across automotive, aerospace, FMCG, plastic packaging and heavy industry. Client identities are anonymised under NDA. Full reference material and commercial details are available to qualified prospects on request.

How to read these case studies

Each engagement is described in a consistent structure: the business situation the client faced, the mandate I was engaged to deliver, the approach taken and the outcomes measured against committed KPIs. This is the same format a board or private equity sponsor would expect in a post-engagement review.

I have intentionally chosen engagements that span different practice areas, industries and geographies — so that you can assess not just what I have done, but how the operating model translates across contexts. An interim manager who has only ever worked in one sector or one geography tends to bring one playbook. Clients who engage me hire the opposite: someone who has seen what works across boundaries.

Active Mandate

Plant Closure & Footprint Consolidation

PE-backed European flexible packaging group · Poland · September 2025 – December 2026

The business situation

Following the acquisition of a smaller Polish flexible packaging manufacturer by a PE-controlled European group, the operational case for footprint consolidation became commercially compelling. Two sites within the same 200km radius produced overlapping product families, with one of them carrying a structural cost disadvantage that no operational improvement programme could close.

The Mandate

Lead the closure of the smaller site and the orderly transfer of all viable production to sister facilities within the group. Mandate operates under direct reporting line to the PE sponsor and the group executive, with a fixed end-date and clearly defined handover.

Approach

– Line transfer planning and sequencing across multiple product families, prioritised by customer commitment and certification overhead

– Works council engagement and social plan negotiation under Polish labour law, including individual support and outplacement

– Customer service-level protection during phase-out, with formalised qualification of receiving sites

– Asset disposal, supplier wind-down and final site closure

Status

Active engagement. Approximately 80% of the workforce reduction has been delivered to plan, with the remaining workforce scheduled for release by end of September 2026. Asset disposal scheduled for June–August 2026. Land and building disposal targeted by the end of 2026, alongside the formal liquidation of the legal entity. Outcomes, including financial impact, customer continuity metrics and social plan execution, available post-handover under reference conditions.

Featured Case

Greenfield Plant Establishment for Premium Aluminium Profile Components – Automotive Tier 1

Polish Silesia · 2019-2020 · 15 months total (9-month build + 6-month industrialisation + 6-month customer approval) · 14,000 m² · 170 employees · €36M build + €18M industrialisation capex · €50M planned annual revenue

THE BUSINESS SITUATION

A European automotive Tier 1 supplier – focused on extruded aluminium profile components for vehicle exteriors (roof rails) – was building strategic production capacity in Central Europe to serve major European OEM customers. The site needed to be commissioned to meet visual quality standards demanded by premium and volume brands across the VW, Stellantis and Renault-Nissan platforms – with a fixed Start-of- Production (SOP) commitment to all customers.

THE MANDATE

End-to-end delivery of the greenfield site, from construction through industrialisation, to start of production and full customer approval. Engagement included the establishment of all operational, quality, IT and reporting structures fully aligned with the group’s operating standards from day one.

APPROACH

  • Site construction managed against fixed delivery window, including coordination with civil contractors, utilities and equipment suppliers
  • Workforce build-up to 170 employees – recruitment, training and integration with group operating standards across production, quality, maintenance, engineering, logistics, EHS and HR
  • Group-aligned systems deployment – ERP, IT infrastructure, quality management, group reporting and operational excellence frameworks rolled out 1:1 with the parent organisation
  • Customer qualification phase (6 months post-SOP) managed against IATF 16949, ISO 14001 and customer- specific audit regimes for all five OEM groups

KEY OUTCOMES

  • Construction completed one month ahead of plan – 9-month build delivered to commitment despite parallel coordination with multiple equipment suppliers and contractors
  • Start of Production achieved on schedule following the planned 6-month industrialisation phase, with all critical processes validated to specification
  • Full customer approval secured within 6 months of SOP covering all five OEM groups (VW Group, including VW, Audi and Skoda brands; Stellantis, including former PSA and FCA; Renault-Nissan)
  • IATF 16949 and ISO 14001 certifications obtained on schedule, supporting the qualification of all customer programmes
  • €54M total capital investment (€36M build + €18M industrialisation) delivered to plan, supporting €50M planned annual revenue at full ramp
  • Operational, quality, IT and reporting structures established 1:1 with group standards from day one – no post-SOP rework required for systems alignment
  • Engagement laid the foundation for the subsequent Portugal site relocation programme (Case Study 02) for the same client, expanding the relationship across two European countries

Closed engagements

Completed mandates with finalised outcomes

HEAVY INDUSTRY · PLANT CLOSURE & RELOCATION

Plant Closure & Customer Transfer │ │ in Heat Treatment for Auto + Aerospace

Poland · 2023 · 9 months · 7,500 m² · 80 employees · €20M revenue · €3M relocation budget

Tier 2 heat treatment supplier to VW Group, Safran, BorgWarner and Michelin. Closure of a structurally underperforming Polish site driven by rising energy costs and 60-65% asset utilisation with full customer and asset transfer to two sister facilities within the group.

KEY OUTCOMES:

  • Full closure delivered in 9 months – all assets dismantled, transported, reinstalled and commissioned at receiving sites; legal entity wound down on schedule
  • €3M relocation budget delivered within €30k of plan (under 1% variance), covering disassembly, transport, reinstallation, commissioning and receiving-site preparation (shop-floor, utilities, infrastructure)
  • Zero customer disruption across the 5-month dual-running phase, despite the complexity of regulated heat treatment processes. All 4 customers VW Group, Safran, BorgWarner, Michelin – transferred to receiving sites with continued business
  • Aerospace and automotive certifications re-qualified at receiving sites without loss of approved-supplier status, including AIAG CQI-9 heat treatment process audit and customer-specific audit regimes from all four customers
  • Workforce wind-down completed in full compliance with Polish labour law – 80 employees released without industrial action, formal disputes or labour court claims
  • Receiving sites absorbed transferred volumes and expanded their service portfolios – fully retaining the customer base post-closure

AUTOMOTIVE TIER 1 · GREENFIELD + RELOCATION

Site Replacement Programme – Greenfield Build with Phased Production Transfer

Lisbon region, Portugal · 2020–2021 · 13 months · 11,000 m² · 180 employees · €14M CAPEX

Tier 1 supplier to VW Group, Renault and Stellantis (PSA, FCA) brands. Replacement of three-hall legacy facility with single integrated plant, removing internal logistics handovers and unlocking commercial capacity for new programmes.

KEY OUTCOMES:

  • €20M of additional annual sales unlocked on top of €55M baseline revenue – a 36% capacity uplift enabled by the new site footprint
  • Zero customer disruption throughout the 2-month dual-running phase. OEM scorecard held at 93% (RAG Green) across the transition
  • Customer site approval achieved in 6 months – ahead of the 9–12 month industry norm for Tier 1 automotive relocations
  • IATF 16949 and ISO 14001 transferred to the new site without non-conformities at first audit
  • 100% workforce retention. All 180 employees transferred to the new site, supported by a negotiated transport scheme. Additional logistics and maintenance positions created
  • Internal material flow consolidated from three separate halls into a single integrated layout, removing inter-hall transport and reducing WIP

HEAVY INDUSTRY · POST-ACQUISITION INTEGRATION

Operational Integration of Slovak Heat Treatment Acquisition into European Group

Slovakia · 2022 · 12 months · 9,000 m² · 160 employees · €42M annual turnover · €4M integration budget

Operational integration of a Slovak heat treatment specialist focused on oil quenching, vacuum hardening and continuous furnace lines – following its acquisition by the European group. Engagement covered the full operational, system and reporting alignment, plus expansion of the group’s capacity and customer footprint into Central Europe, including supply to a leading European premium automotive manufacturer and regional automotive Tier 1 customers.

KEY OUTCOMES:

  • Full operational integration delivered in 12 months on schedule covering production, logistics, maintenance, engineering, quality and EHS
  • €4M integration budget delivered to plan, with a controlled €150k scope expansion (4% variance) approved by the group during execution to deploy a global CMMS as part of the integration
  • Group operational standards rolled out across all functions – unified reporting structure, harmonised KPIs, group-wide planning and performance management systems
  • Lean management framework deployed in line with group operational excellence standards, structured continuous improvement activities established across all functions
  • Key personnel retained through the transition. Workforce concerns about restructuring addressed through structured communication and phased change implementation, allowing the team to adapt to new operating standards without business disruption
  • Acquired site fully integrated into group supply chain – premium automotive deliveries maintained without interruption, regional customer base retained post-acquisition

HEAVY INDUSTRY · RELOCATION + CAPABILITY TRANSFER

Plant Relocation with Cross-Atlantic Capability Transfer in Heat Treatment

Hungary (Budapest region) · 2023-2024 · 10 months · 70 employees · €2.5M project budget + €8M technology transfer

Environmental compliance-driven relocation of a heat treatment site from central Budapest to a peri-urban industrial zone, combined with the cross-Atlantic transfer of a low-pressure carburizing (LPC) line from the group’s US operation. The new site, a refitted leased facility was commissioned with expanded capacity, premium technology capability, and significantly reduced energy consumption and CO2 emissions.

KEY OUTCOMES:

  • Full relocation completed in 10 months – environmental and zoning compliance achieved at the new industrial location
  • LPC line transferred from US group facility and recommissioned in Hungary, expanding the group’s premium heat treatment capability footprint into Central Europe. The new technology delivered measurable reductions in energy consumption, gas usage and CO2 emissions
  • €2.5M project budget delivered in full, covering site refit, relocation logistics, equipment transfer and commissioning
  • Workforce transition resulted in 75% retention; the change of location to a peri-urban site limited the willingness of part of the workforce to commute. All key personnel were retained
  • Customer base experienced approximately 25% volume diversion during the transition, traceable to communication gaps in early planning. Customer base subsequently rebuilt through new contracts won on the LPC capability – more than offsetting the transitional loss
  • New site operating with regulatory compliance, expanded capability and net-positive revenue position, established as the group’s centre for premium heat treatment in Central Europe

Beyond what’s listed here

The five engagements above are a representative selection from over twenty years of senior operational roles across European and Asian manufacturing including a broader portfolio of greenfields, plant closures, relocations, line transfers, post-acquisition integrations and one complete plant turnaround.

Two long-term client relationships are reflected in the cases above – the Featured Case and Case Study 02 with the same automotive Tier 1 client across Poland and Portugal; Cases 01, 03 and 04 with a single European industrial group across Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. Long-term repeat engagement is not the focus of this page, but tends to be a marker of how successful interim mandates are evaluated.

Not every engagement is published – some remain under NDA, some are too recent for outcomes to be public. If you have a mandate in your pipeline and want to discuss whether interim is the right model, the conversation begins without commitment.

Have a similar mandate?

Whether your situation looks like one of the engagements above – or one not published – let’s discuss whether the timing and scope fit. First call within 24 hours..

mobile : +48 530 472 040
e.mail: tomasz.osuch@interimprojects.eu

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or contact directly: mobile: +48 530 472 040, e-mail: tomasz.osuch@interimprojects.eu