Skip to content
XLG SWISS
Lucyna Gorges walking through a large assembly hall with a plant manager

Practice from industry

Your dedicated partner for Lean and change

About me

Lucyna Gorges

I am Lucyna Gorges and have been at home in the Lean world since 2013, as a Lean Expert, project manager, trainer, auditor and manager. For 13 years I was responsible for improvement projects in manufacturing industry and mechanical engineering, on the shop floor as well as in administration. I led laterally, without disciplinary line authority, because I involve people early and convince them rather than giving orders. In 2026 I founded XLG SWISS GmbH in Bottighofen on Lake Constance to make what I learned in plants available to companies in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. Pragmatic, results-oriented and as equals.

Lucyna Gorges in front of the glass facade of a plant administration building

Career

Lucyna Gorges discussing a process with a production team directly at a machine

2003–2019

Career: 16 years in one company, from entry level to Black Belt

My career began in 2003 at Freudenberg Sealing Technologies in Hamburg, a manufacturer of sealing technology and hydraulic components for heavy industry. I started there as an industrial business administrator, studied International Management alongside my job and grew through process and project roles into the internal Lean programme. In 2014 I completed the company's one-year European Lean Black Belt programme: five days of introduction, nine supervised and nine self-led Kaizen weeks based on the nine Lean system tools, plus four weeks of leadership and trainer seminars. After that, until 2019, I was responsible as Lean Black Belt Expert for improvement and segmentation projects, process standards, internal Lean audits and best-practice comparisons, delivered Lean training and guided Green Belts. In 2018 I added the certification as Lean Admin Expert, my Black Belt for administration.

Lucyna Gorges in a plant discussion with a manager above an active assembly area

2019–2025

2019 to 2025: factory development at an intralogistics manufacturer

From 2019 to 2025 I was Lean Expert in the Factory Development and Support department of STILL GmbH in Hamburg, a manufacturer of industrial trucks and intralogistics solutions. There I was responsible for tasks that shape what I offer today: sub-project management for the introduction of a mixed-model assembly line with change communication and newly designed interface agreements; the plant-wide introduction of teamwork including maturity models; building a policy deployment matrix with A3 reports for all management levels and a strategic performance management system; cross-plant Lean audits together with the central OPEX function; shop floor management; building a change and training organisation. With a meeting manifesto I reduced meeting time in operations by over 20 percent. In improvement projects I shortened lead times by up to 70 percent.

Lucyna Gorges leading a strategic meeting with plant leaders

since 2026

XLG SWISS GmbH

I am Lucyna Gorges and have been at home in the Lean world since 2013, as a Lean Expert, project manager, trainer, auditor and manager. For 13 years I was responsible for improvement projects in manufacturing industry and mechanical engineering, on the shop floor as well as in administration. I led laterally, without disciplinary line authority, because I involve people early and convince them rather than giving orders. In 2026 I founded XLG SWISS GmbH in Bottighofen on Lake Constance to make what I learned in plants available to companies in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. Pragmatic, results-oriented and as equals.

Certificates and continuing education

I keep learning, because the demands on plants and administrations keep changing. My most important qualifications and certificates:

Lean Black Belt (Production), Lean Management Europe, 2014: The one-year European programme combined Lean methods in production with supervised and independently led Kaizen weeks as well as leadership and trainer seminars.

Lean Admin Expert Certification, 2018: This certification adds an administrative perspective to production, covering areas such as approval chains, handovers, media discontinuities and meeting structures.

Certificate programme Agile Change Manager, Hochschule Bremen (Bremen University of Applied Sciences), 2023 to 2024: The certificate programme belongs to the field of change management and complements practical work on communication, participation and implementation.

Business coach training, 2025 to 2026: The training adds structured reflection and support for leaders in specific professional situations to the consulting perspective.

NLP Practitioner, 2025: This entry documents continuing education in communication and personal development.

AI Manager, AI Consultant and AI Expert, 2025 to 2026: These qualifications belong to the field of artificial intelligence. XLG SWISS focuses on the process perspective rather than technical programming.

Celonis Certified Data Analyst (Process Mining): The certification belongs to process mining: the data-based examination of actual process flows and their variants.

Train-the-Trainer: This entry documents continuing education in the structured communication of content and the design of learning formats.

Bachelor in International Management (scholarship), apprenticeship as industrial business administrator: The degree and vocational training combine an international management perspective with a commercial foundation in industry.

Languages: German and Polish as native languages, English at business negotiation level: German and Polish are listed as native languages, with English at business negotiation level. This supports collaboration in national and international contexts.

Two Black Belts: production and administration

Most Lean experts come either from manufacturing or from the office.

Most Lean experts come either from manufacturing or from the office. I hold both certifications and have seen both worlds from the inside. The Lean Black Belt for production taught me to recognise flow, takt, standards and waste at the line and to eliminate them together with teams. The Lean Admin Expert showed me that the biggest lead time losses often sit in administration: in approval chains, duplicate data entry, media discontinuities and meetings. In my projects I therefore always look at both, because the interface between plant and office is where orders wait. I have led over 100 workshops and trainings in both areas, for teams of up to 15 people, nationally and internationally, with presentations up to vice-president level.

Lateral leadership: more than a decade without line authority

In all those years I was never the disciplinary superior of the people with whom I implemented change.

In all those years I was never the disciplinary superior of the people with whom I implemented change. I had to convince foremen, planners, clerical staff, department heads and works councils, not instruct them. That was hard work, and it was the best school I can imagine. Because that is exactly the position your internal project managers, Lean officers and process owners are in too. I know what resistance feels like, how to take it seriously without being paralysed by it, and how those affected become those involved. This experience is the core of my work as a consultant, trainer and coach. The human factor is always my focus, not as a slogan, but because without it no standard holds.

How I work

I work where the work happens: at the line, in the warehouse, in production planning, in purchasing.

I work where the work happens: at the line, in the warehouse, in production planning, in purchasing. I start with a baseline assessment, my Maturity Check with seven assessment areas, before I apply methods. Together with senior management I define projects, workshops and trainings based on what the organisation can carry, not based on a catalogue. I say what I see, even when it is uncomfortable, and I will bang the table if a project would otherwise fizzle out. I end engagements when the standards hold without me. And I work directly with you, from the first diagnosis to the last review, without changing teams. For larger undertakings I bring in partners; the responsibility stays with me.

Lucyna Gorges looking over the production floor from a window
“Optimise processes, enable people, embed change.”

Frequently asked questions

What does Lean Black Belt mean?

The Black Belt is the highest practical qualification level in Lean and Six Sigma programmes, modelled on the belt colours in martial arts. A Black Belt leads improvement projects independently, trains and coaches Green Belts and teams, and masters the methods in practice, not just in theory. My Black Belt for production was earned in a one-year European programme with 18 Kaizen weeks; the Lean Admin Expert is the corresponding level for administration. Both are plant certifications, not university degrees, and that is exactly where their value lies: they prove implemented projects.

Which industries have you worked in?

In manufacturing industry and mechanical engineering: 16 years at a manufacturer of sealing technology and hydraulic components for heavy industry, six years at a manufacturer of industrial trucks and intralogistics solutions. Both companies are series and variant manufacturers with assembly, machining, logistics and a large administration. The Lean and change tools I used there work in every manufacturing operation, because waste takes the same forms everywhere. What differs is regulation and takt, and I adapt to that in every engagement.

Why did you become self-employed?

Because during my time in industry I managed many external consultants and was often dissatisfied with the quality: expensive presentations, changing teams, little time on the shop floor, no common thread, people not taken along. I wanted to show that it can be done differently: on site, with the people involved, until it works, proven in figures. Added to that was the move to Switzerland, which was a good moment for a fresh start. The GmbH is my framework for working exactly the way I would have wished for as a client.

What does lateral leadership mean in concrete terms?

Leading without being the disciplinary superior: no target agreements, no appraisals, no sanctions, but persuasion, clarity and commitment. For more than a decade I led project teams of up to 15 people this way, nationally and internationally, with foremen, planners, engineers and clerical staff from different areas. It works when you involve people early, take their interests seriously, make decisions transparent and deliver what you promise yourself. I pass this experience on to managers and project leaders in trainings and coaching.

Lucyna Gorges in a meeting in a conference room with a glass wall facing the plant

Book consultation