Tetra Pak has strengthened its supply chain reliability with multiple factories advancing in the Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) Excellence awards, hosted by the Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance.

At a time when global supply chains face ongoing disruption, continuous improvement across factories is more important than ever to ensure customers receive reliable, high-quality supply. The TPM Excellence awards recognise manufacturers that improve efficiency, reduce waste and maintain consistent standards, helping deliver more stable supply and fewer disruptions for customers.

Multiple factories across the Tetra Pak global network advanced to higher certification tiers. Beijing, Rubiera, La Rioja and Kunshan progressed to Advanced Special, placing them one step below World Class, the highest rating in the five‑tier TPM system. Taipei also achieved Special level, marking solid progress on the journey through the TPM tiers. Additionally, Beijing earned rare special recognition as a best practice case study.

Tetra Pak’s Kunshan Production Centre also earned the first TPM Excellence Award for its production centre operations, marking a key step in bringing these standards across the full manufacturing network. The site’s achievement reflects sustained gains in productivity, quality and reliability, and provides a proven model to scale performance improvements across other production centres globally.

Joakim Fernström, Vice President Manufacturing & Supply Chain Integration at Tetra Pak, comments: “Building a strong culture of continuous improvement is the foundation for elevating our factories' management and performance. This achievement represents a significant step forward in operational excellence, and I’m proud that our factory in Kunshan has become the first Tetra Pak Equipment Production Centre to earn this recognition, showing how these standards can be applied more widely across our operations.” 

The awards also mark a major milestone in Tetra Pak’s World Class Manufacturing (WCM) journey, a methodology designed to help factories improve quality and safety while reducing costs, time and resource use. Built on a set of core pillars covering areas such as safety, quality and maintenance, WCM provides a structured framework to improve performance across every stage of production. Independent validation through TPM awards shows that these improvements are delivering real, measurable results across Tetra Pak’s global network.

A total of twelve Tetra Pak converting factories now sit at Advanced Special level and a further six at World Class. This scale of progress across the factory network reflects the maturity of Tetra Pak’s approach, and its focus on continuous improvement and outstanding performance.

Tahir Hafeez, Vice President Integrated Supply Chain at Tetra Pak, comments: “Reliable supply is critical for our customers, especially in today’s environment. By improving how our factories operate every day, we can guarantee consistent quality and maintain the continuity customers rely on to keep their own production running smoothly.”

The TPM Excellence Awards, established in 1964 by the Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance, recognise manufacturers that meet strict global standards for operational performance. Certification takes over a year and includes multi-stage assessment. As the programme evolves with industry needs, this year’s winners represent some of the most advanced manufacturing operations globally.