A ranking that shows
progress.
Lean Champions does not measure which company is the “best factory”. The ranking shows how well each participant is able to achieve its own goals, develop its projects and build on its results throughout the year. Below, you can follow the quarterly and annual results, as well as the way the evaluation is calculated.
How is the result
calculated?
Participants do not compete against each other, but against their own goals and previous results. At the end of each quarter, the evaluation is based on three criteria.
5S
The participant selects an area that is audited at the beginning and at the end of the quarter.
Kaizen Project
Each participant carries out an improvement project with a specific, measurable target – quality, productivity, SMED or another business indicator.
Participant Ranking
At the quarterly meeting, each team presents its project. The other participants rank it from 1st to 13th place, without being allowed to rank themselves.
1st place receives 12 points, 2nd place – 11 points, continuing down to 1 point.
Differences in the 2025 Evaluation System
Voting among participants:
In 2025, participants gave scores from
1 to 6, without being allowed to vote for themselves.
The resulting score was converted into a percentage
and included in the final quarterly evaluation.
Final annual evaluation:
50% annual score +
50% evaluation from the annual ceremony,
calculated as the average of the participant voting
and the international jury evaluation.
Annual Ranking — 2026
| Place | Company | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Quarterly average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Ottobock Manufacturing Bulgaria Ltd. | 88.89% | 95.14% | 88.77% | — | 90.93% |
| #2 | LEM Bulgaria Ltd. | 83.80% | 90.28% | 92.59% | — | 88.89% |
| #3 | Mebel Stil Ltd. — Plant 1 | 88.77% | 89.00% | 88.31% | — | 88.69% |
| #4 | TVH Bulgaria Ltd. | 86.69% | 90.74% | 83.22% | — | 86.88% |
| #5 | Südwolle Group Italy — Bulsafil | 85.88% | 82.99% | 83.68% | — | 84.18% |
| #6 | APS Trading Ltd. | 82.75% | 84.72% | 83.33% | — | 83.60% |
| #7 | Kostal Bulgaria Automotive Ltd. | 83.33% | 83.33% | 83.68% | — | 83.45% |
| #8 | Wegmann Automotive Bulgaria Ltd. | 81.37% | 79.86% | 85.30% | — | 82.18% |
| #9 | Linamar Light Metals Ruse Ltd. | 81.21% | 84.26% | 80.88% | — | 82.12% |
| #10 | AQ Plastronic AD | 82.52% | 82.75% | 80.79% | — | 82.02% |
| #11 | Alcomet AD | 81.60% | 81.94% | 78.73% | — | 80.76% |
| #12 | Jacobs Douwe Egberts BG Ltd. | 83.24% | 77.31% | 79.86% | — | 80.14% |
| #13 | NIKI Ltd. | 81.38% | 76.87% | 81.83% | — | 80.03% |
Annual Ranking — 2025
| Company | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Average (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kostal Bulgaria Automotive Ltd. 🥇 | 94.9% | 91.0% | 90.4% | 89.7% | 91.5% |
| NIKI Ltd. 🥈 | 93.3% | 87.0% | 88.1% | 86.6% | 88.8% |
| APS Trading Ltd. 🥉 | 93.3% | 87.0% | 90.4% | 83.8% | 88.6% |
| TVH Bulgaria Ltd. | 90.3% | 87.0% | 91.2% | 84.9% | 88.3% |
| Linamar Light Metals Ruse Ltd. | 85.6% | 91.0% | 93.1% | 82.1% | 87.9% |
| Alcomet AD — Automotive Team | 83.9% | 89.0% | 89.7% | 87.4% | 87.5% |
| Alcomet AD — Presses Team | 85.7% | 86.0% | 85.7% | 85.3% | 85.7% |
| LEM Bulgaria Ltd. | 91.1% | 67.0% | 90.4% | 85.7% | 83.6% |
Final annual result — 2025
| Lean Champions | Average Q1–Q4 2025 result (50%) | Jury assessment (25%) | Participant vote (25%) | Final result 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NIKI Ltd. 🥇 | 44.38% | 23.33% | 16.07% | 83.78% |
| Alcomet AD — Automotive Team 🥈 | 43.75% | 22.50% | 15.48% | 81.72% |
| Kostal Bulgaria Automotive Ltd. 🥉 | 45.75% | 20.42% | 14.29% | 80.45% |
| TVH Bulgaria Ltd. | 44.17% | 20.42% | 14.29% | 78.87% |
| Alcomet AD — Presses Team | 42.83% | 20.83% | 15.00% | 78.67% |
| LEM Bulgaria Ltd. | 41.78% | 25.00% | 11.31% | 78.09% |
| Linamar Light Metals Ruse Ltd. | 43.97% | 22.08% | 11.90% | 77.96% |
| APS Trading Ltd. | 44.32% | 20.42% | 11.31% | 76.04% |
Participants’ Award — 2025
| No. | Lean Champions | Rating 1 | Rating 2 | Rating 3 | Rating 4 | Rating 5 | Rating 6 | Rating 7 | Rating 8 | Average rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kostal Bulgaria Automotive Ltd. 🥇 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2.88 |
| 2 | NIKI Ltd. 🥈 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2.75 |
| 3 | Linamar Light Metals Ruse Ltd. 🥉 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2.50 |
| 4 | Alcomet AD — Automotive Team | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2.25 |
| 5 | APS Trading Ltd. | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2.00 |
| 6 | LEM Bulgaria Ltd. | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1.88 |
| 7 | TVH Bulgaria Ltd. | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1.88 |
| 8 | Alcomet AD — Presses Team | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1.38 |
Lean Champions — Rankings — Q1 2025
| No. | Lean Champions | 5S | Kaizen | Participant Ranking | Final Result Q1 2025 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audit 1 | Audit 2 | Target | Result (%) | KPI | Before Q1 | After Q1 | Target | Result (%) | Ranking Points | Result as % of max. points | |||
| 1 | Kostal Bulgaria Automotive Ltd. | 94% | 96% | 96% | 100% | Efficiency | 89.7% | 99.8% | 99.8% | 100% | 5.2 | 84.6% | 94.9% 🥇 |
| 2 | APS Trading Ltd. | 25% | 81% | 45% | 100% | Labour hours per unit | 0.57 | 0.35 | 0.51 | 100% | 5.0 | 80.0% | 93.3% 🥈 |
| 3 | NIKI Ltd. | 23% | 68% | 60% | 100% | AM plan completion | 0.0% | 37.0% | 37.0% | 100% | 5.0 | 80.0% | 93.3% 🥈 |
| 4 | LEM Bulgaria Ltd. | 88% | 92% | 92% | 100% | AM plan completion | 0.0% | 20.0% | 20.0% | 100% | 4.7 | 73.3% | 91.1% 🥉 |
| 5 | TVH Bulgaria Ltd. | 9% | 61% | 45% | 100% | Average monthly output | 8729 | 9997 | 9200 | 100% | 4.5 | 70.8% | 90.3% |
| 6 | Alcomet AD — Presses Team | 22% | 43% | 45% | 96% | Yield | 58% | 65% | 65% | 100% | 4.1 | 61.4% | 85.7% |
| 7 | Linamar Light Metals Ruse Ltd. | 68% | 86% | 80% | 100% | FA 7 efficiency | 40.0% | 53.0% | 52.0% | 100% | 3.8 | 56.7% | 85.6% |
| 8 | Alcomet AD — Automotive Team | 9% | 38% | 45% | 84% | Occupied pallets | 182 | 96 | 98 | 98% | 4.5 | 69.2% | 83.9% |
Lean Champions — Rankings — Q2 2025
| No. | Lean Champions | 5S | Kaizen | Participant Ranking | Final Result Q2 2025 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audit 1 | Audit 2 | Target | Result (%) | KPI | Before Q2 | After Q2 | Target | Result (%) | Ranking Points | Result as % of max. points | |||
| 1 | Kostal Bulgaria Automotive Ltd. | 98% | 98% | 98% | 100% | Scrap rate | 3.0% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 100% | 2.18 | 73% | 91% 🥇 |
| 2 | Linamar Light Metals Ruse Ltd. | 70% | 85% | 80% | 100% | Core-making department efficiency | 47.0% | 50.0% | 48.0% | 100% | 2.18 | 73% | 91% 🥇 |
| 3 | Alcomet AD — Automotive Team | 25% | 90% | 75% | 100% | AM plan completion (%) | 0 | 8% | 8% | 100% | 2.0 | 67% | 89% 🥈 |
| 4 | TVH Bulgaria Ltd. | 27% | 97% | 60% | 100% | Production lead-time reduction (days) | 29 | 24 | 24 | 100% | 1.82 | 61% | 87% 🥉 |
| 5 | NIKI Ltd. | 57% | 94% | 97% | 97% | AM plan completion | 37.0% | 57.0% | 57.0% | 100% | 1.91 | 64% | 87% 🥉 |
| 6 | APS Trading Ltd. | 31% | 89% | 70% | 100% | Material-preparation time reduction (min.) | 246 | 74 | 20% | 100% | 1.82 | 61% | 87% 🥉 |
| 7 | Alcomet AD — Presses Team | 43% | 88% | 90% | 98% | AM implementation in 3 areas (%) | 0 | 3 | 3 | 100% | 1.83 | 61% | 86% |
| 8 | LEM Bulgaria Ltd. | 30% | 73% | 70% | 100% | AM plan completion | 20.0% | 40.0% | 40.0% | 100% | 0.0 | 0% | 67% |
Lean Champions — Rankings — Q3 2025
| No. | Lean Champions | 5S | Kaizen | Participant Ranking | Final Result Q3 2025 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audit 1 | Audit 2 | Target | Result (%) | KPI | Before Q3 | After Q3 | Target | Result (%) | Ranking Points | Result as % of max. points | |||
| 1 | Linamar Light Metals Ruse Ltd. | 72% | 82% | 80% | 100% | Core-making department efficiency | 50.0% | 49.0% | 51.0% | 96% | 2.50 | 83% | 93.1% 🥇 |
| 2 | TVH Bulgaria Ltd. | 50% | 97% | 80% | 100% | Productivity — average cylinders per month | 45 | 53 | 50 | 100% | 2.21 | 74% | 91.2% 🥈 |
| 3 | Kostal Bulgaria Automotive Ltd. | 98% | 98% | 98% | 100% | Monthly storage-cost reduction by 15% | € 270,000 | € 229,500 | € 229,500 | 100% | 2.14 | 71% | 90.4% 🥉 |
| 3 | APS Trading Ltd. | 44% | 93% | 75% | 100% | TPH line efficiency improvement | 37.50% | 26.70% | 30% | 100% | 2.14 | 71% | 90.4% 🥉 |
| 3 | LEM Bulgaria Ltd. | 95% | 95% | 95% | 100% | AM plan completion | 17.0% | 37.0% | 37.0% | 100% | 2.14 | 71% | 90.4% 🥉 |
| 4 | Alcomet AD — Automotive Team | 25% | 90% | 75% | 100% | AM plan completion (%) | 8 | 24% | 24% | 100% | 2.07 | 69% | 89.7% |
| 5 | NIKI Ltd. | 53% | 85% | 80% | 100% | AM plan completion | 57.0% | 69.0% | 69.0% | 100% | 1.93 | 64% | 88.1% |
| 6 | Alcomet AD — Presses Team | 43% | 88% | 80% | 100% | AM implementation in 5 areas (%) | 3 | 8 | 5 | 100% | 1.71 | 57% | 85.7% |
Lean Champions — Rankings — Q4 2025
| No. | Lean Champions | 5S | Kaizen | Participant Ranking | Final Result Q4 2025 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audit 1 | Audit 2 | Target | Result (%) | KPI | Before Q4 | After Q4 | Target | Result (%) | Ranking Points | Result as % of max. points | |||
| 1 | Kostal Bulgaria Automotive Ltd. | 98% | 98% | 98% | 100% | FTE optimisation in raw-material delivery | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 2.07 | 69% | 89.7% 🥇 |
| 2 | Alcomet AD — Automotive Team | 25% | 87% | 85% | 100% | AM plan completion (%) | 24 | 64% | 64% | 100% | 1.87 | 62% | 87.4% 🥈 |
| 3 | NIKI Ltd. | 53% | 90% | 80% | 100% | AM plan completion | 69.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100% | 1.79 | 60% | 86.6% 🥉 |
| 4 | LEM Bulgaria Ltd. | 42% | 87% | 85% | 100% | Production-floor space saved (m²) | 210 m² | 194 m² | 194 m² | 100% | 1.71 | 57% | 85.7% |
| 5 | Alcomet AD — Presses Team | 43% | 79% | 80% | 99% | AM implementation in 5 areas (%) | 8 | 11 | 11 | 100% | 1.71 | 57% | 85.3% |
| 6 | TVH Bulgaria Ltd. | 32% | 95% | 80% | 100% | Future cost avoidance | € 50,000 | € 62,000 | € 50,000 | 100% | 1.64 | 55% | 84.9% |
| 7 | APS Trading Ltd. | 67% | 92% | 88% | 100% | Shift-productivity increase | 625 | 724 | 724 | 100% | 1.54 | 51% | 83.8% |
| 8 | Linamar Light Metals Ruse Ltd. | 60% | 79% | 80% | 99% | Core-making department efficiency | 49.0% | 55.0% | 55.0% | 100% | 1.43 | 48% | 82.1% |
Lean Champions — Rankings — Q1 2026
| No. | Lean Champions | 5S | Kaizen | Participant Ranking | Final Result Q1 2026 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audit 1 | Audit 2 | Target | Result (%) | KPI | Before Q1 | After Q1 | Target | Result (%) | Ranking Points | Result as % of max. points | |||
| 1 | Ottobock Manufacturing Bulgaria Ltd. | 57% | 78% | 70% | 100% | Weekly productivity (units per person) | 10.5 | 12.5 | 11.5 | 100% | 192.00 | 66.67% | 88.89% 🥇 |
| 2 | Mebel Stil Ltd. | 38% | 78% | 70% | 100% | Productivity — time per set (sec.) | 114 | 89 | 90 | 100% | 191.00 | 66.32% | 88.77% 🥈 |
| 3 | TVH Bulgaria Ltd. | 72% | 93% | 85% | 100% | AC motor cost optimisation (%) | 47.0% | 19.1% | 25.0% | 100% | 173.00 | 60.07% | 86.69% 🥉 |
| 4 | Südwolle Group Italy — Bulsafil | 52% | 80% | 75% | 100% | Changeover-time reduction (min.) | 60 | 23 | 30 | 100% | 166.00 | 57.64% | 85.88% |
| 5 | LEM Bulgaria Ltd. | 87% | 96% | 90% | 100% | Finished-goods warehouse efficiency (average seconds per export-list row) | 330 | 300 | 300 | 100% | 148.00 | 51.39% | 83.80% |
| 6 | Kostal Bulgaria Automotive Ltd. | 27% | 88% | 60% | 100% | Autonomous-maintenance plan completion (%) | 0% | 5% | 5% | 100% | 144.00 | 50.00% | 83.33% |
| 7 | Jacobs Douwe Egberts BG Ltd. | 51% | 80% | 85% | 94.12% | Overall efficiency % (roastery) | 66.0% | 67.8% | 68.0% | 99.7% | 161.00 | 55.90% | 83.24% |
| 8 | APS Trading Ltd. | 96% | --- | 95% | 100% | Supplier lead-time optimisation (days) | 65 | 14 | 20 | 100% | 139.00 | 48.26% | 82.75% |
| 9 | AQ Plastronic AD | 53% | 92% | 80% | 100% | Productivity increase (products per operator) | 120 | 150 | 138 (15%) | 100% | 137.00 | 47.57% | 82.52% |
| 10 | Alcomet AD | 19% | 52% | 50% | 100% | Changeover-time reduction (hours) | 06:15 | 02:15 | 03:00 | 100% | 129.00 | 44.79% | 81.60% |
| 11 | NIKI Ltd. | 0% | 38% | 40% | 93.75% | Annual improvement-plan completion | 0.0% | 40.7% | 41.7% | 97.60% | 152.00 | 52.78% | 81.38% |
| 12 | Wegmann Automotive Bulgaria Ltd. | 34% | 60% | 55% | 100% | Lead-casting capacity increase (castings) | 5952 | 7438 | 7400 | 100% | 127.00 | 44.10% | 81.37% |
| 13 | Linamar Light Metals Ruse Ltd. | 82% | --- | 80% | 100% | Quality improvement (%) | 27.0% | 25.9% | 22.0% | 84.94% | 169.00 | 58.68% | 81.21% |
Lean Champions · Published
Q2 Lean champion 2026
Lean Champions
Official results
Full ranking
13 companies| No. | Lean Champions | 5S | Kaizen | Participant Ranking | Final Result Q2 2026 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audit 1 | Audit 2 | Target | Result (%) | KPI | Before Q2 | After Q2 | Target | Result (%) | Ranking Points | Result as % of max. points | |||
| 1 | Ottobock Manufacturing Bulgaria Ltd. | 39% | 73% | 65% | 100.00% | Weekly productivity (units) | 35.0 | 80.0 | 70.0 | 100.00% | 246 | 85.42% | 95.14% |
| 2 | TVH Bulgaria Ltd. | 91% | 92.5% | 92.5% | 100.00% | DC motor quality improvement % | 60.0% | 24.2% | 25.0% | 100.00% | 208 | 72.22% | 90.74% |
| 3 | LEM Bulgaria Ltd. | 93% | --- | 90% | 100.00% | DMS management-cost optimisation | 0 | 800 | 800 | 100.00% | 204 | 70.83% | 90.28% |
| 4 | Mebel Stil Ltd. — Plant 1 | 18% | 87% | 55% | 100.00% | Foam-volume optimisation | 1643 m³ | 1360 m³ | 1360 m³ | 100.00% | 193 | 67.01% | 89.00% |
| 5 | APS Trading Ltd. | 18% | 83% | 75% | 100.00% | Order-picking time optimisation — Bravo store (min.) | 07:24 | 04:50 | 05:00 | 100.00% | 156 | 54.17% | 84.72% |
| 6 | Linamar Light Metals Ruse Ltd. | 53% | 82% | 80% | 100.00% | Quality improvement (%) | 24.7% | 20.0% | 20.0% | 100.00% | 152 | 52.78% | 84.26% |
| 7 | Kostal Bulgaria Automotive Ltd. | 25% | 60% | 50% | 100.00% | Autonomous-maintenance plan completion (%) | 5% | 20% | 20% | 100.00% | 144 | 50.00% | 83.33% |
| 8 | Südwolle Group Italy — Bulsafil | 52% | 75% | 75% | 100.00% | Changeover-time reduction (min.) | 42 | 23 | 30 | 100.00% | 141 | 48.96% | 82.99% |
| 9 | AQ Plastronic AD | 64% | 80% | 75% | 100.00% | Productivity increase % | 36% | 87% | 60% | 100.00% | 139 | 48.26% | 82.75% |
| 10 | Alcomet AD | 52% | 65% | 60% | 100.00% | Changeover-time reduction (hours) | 06:39 | 02:27 | 03:30 | 100.00% | 132 | 45.83% | 81.94% |
| 11 | Wegmann Automotive Bulgaria Ltd. | 77% | 86% | 80% | 100.00% | Autonomous-maintenance plan completion (%) | 0% | 18.2% | 11% | 100.00% | 114 | 39.58% | 79.86% |
| 12 | Jacobs Douwe Egberts BG Ltd. | 77% | 91% | 85% | 100.00% | Overall efficiency % (roastery) | 68.0% | 70.1% | 70.0% | 100.00% | 92 | 31.94% | 77.31% |
| 13 | NIKI Ltd. | 38% | 40% | 40% | 100.00% | Annual improvement-plan completion | 40.7% | 87.0% | 93.1% | 93.45% | 107 | 37.15% | 76.87% |
Lean Champions · Published
Q3 Lean champion 2026
Lean Champions
Official results
Full ranking
13 companies| No. | Lean Champions | 5S | Kaizen | Participant Ranking | Final Result Q3 2026 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audit 1 | Audit 2 | Target | Result (%) | KPI | Before Q3 | After Q3 | Target | Result (%) | Ranking Points | Result as % of max. points | |||
| 1 | LEM Bulgaria Ltd. | --- | 83.0% | 80% | 100.00% | Productivity (units) | 790 | 1245 | 1000 | 100.00% | 224 | 77.78% | 92.59% |
| 2 | Ottobock Manufacturing Bulgaria Ltd. | 23% | 78% | 65% | 100.00% | Daily productivity (units per person) | 100 | 136 | 120 | 100.00% | 191 | 66.32% | 88.77% |
| 3 | Mebel Stil Ltd. — Plant 1 | 44% | 91% | 80% | 100.00% | Productivity increase (%) | 80 | 93 | 90 | 100.00% | 187 | 64.93% | 88.31% |
| 4 | Wegmann Automotive Bulgaria Ltd. | 55% | 90% | 80% | 100.00% | On-time delivery (OTD, %) | 97% | 98.0% | 98% | 100.00% | 161 | 55.90% | 85.30% |
| 5 | Südwolle Group Italy — Bulsafil | 52% | 75% | 75% | 100.00% | Setup time reduction (min.) | 26 | 17 | 20 | 100.00% | 147 | 51.04% | 83.68% |
| 5 | Kostal Bulgaria Automotive Ltd. | 39% | 83% | 50% | 100.00% | Autonomous Maintenance plan completion (%) | 20% | 75% | 75% | 100.00% | 147 | 51.04% | 83.68% |
| 6 | APS Trading Ltd. | 89% | 95% | 92% | 100.00% | Weighing scale taring time (sec.) | 23 | 3 | 3 | 100.00% | 144 | 50.00% | 83.33% |
| 7 | TVH Bulgaria Ltd. | 91% | 92.0% | 90.0% | 100.00% | Number of machines in stock | 80 | >124 | 104 | 100.00% | 143 | 49.65% | 83.22% |
| 8 | NIKI Ltd. | 87.5% | 92.5% | 90% | 100.00% | Annual improvement plan completion | 68.5% | 79.0% | 79.0% | 100.00% | 131 | 45.49% | 81.83% |
| 9 | Linamar Light Metals Ruse Ltd. | 50% | 73% | 80% | 91.25% | Quality improvement (%) | 20% | 18% | 18% | 100.00% | 148 | 51.39% | 80.88% |
| 10 | AQ Plastronic AD | 66% | 92% | 90% | 100.00% | Quality improvement (%) | 20% | 5% | 5% | 100.00% | 122 | 42.36% | 80.79% |
| 11 | Jacobs Douwe Egberts BG Ltd. | 85% | 88% | 85% | 100.00% | Coffee roasting losses (%) | 11.14% | 10.97% | 11.0% | 100.00% | 114 | 39.58% | 79.86% |
| 12 | Alcomet AD | 13% | 31% | 40% | 77.50% | Reduction in repacking incidents | 75 | 7 | 7 | 100.00% | 169 | 58.68% | 78.73% |
Lean Champions
Guest voting
Place 2
Alcomet AD19PointsPlace 1
LEM Bulgaria Ltd.25PointsPlace 3
Südwolle Group Italy — Bulsafil16PointsGuest voting — full ranking
13 companiesQ4 2026
This ranking has not been published yet.
Annual ranking 2027
This ranking has not been published yet.










