Meetings where
knowledge is shared.
Lean Champions is about more than projects and rankings. Throughout the year, participants open their factories to one another, showcase real processes and talk to the people behind the improvements. Here you can follow the community meetings through videos, photos and real moments from the factories.
Lean Champions — meeting — Q3 2026
The Q3 2026 Lean Champions meeting will be hosted by Mebel Stil Ltd. in Targovishte on 16 October 2026.
Participating companies will present their Q3 improvement projects, exchange practical experience and explore the host company's manufacturing environment and development journey.
A limited number of guest companies can also attend. Priority will be given to companies considering joining Lean Champions in 2027, with an opportunity to meet participating teams and learn about their projects and results.
The date and location reflect the published programme. Participants should confirm final arrangements and guest availability with the organiser.
Lean Champions · The community after completing its first annual cycle
Select a meeting from the archive to view its report, video and photographs.
Lean Champions 2026 – Meeting #8 at APS Trading Ltd.
📅 18 September 2026
Meeting #8 of Lean Champions 2026 began at APS Trading Ltd. in Botevgrad – the first of two host companies that opened their doors to the community on the same day.
APS has been part of Lean Champions since the initiative's first year. Returning to the company gave participants another opportunity to meet the team, see the manufacturing environment firsthand and follow the progress and ongoing improvement work.
As with every Lean Champions meeting, the focus was on real processes, practical exchange of experience and conversations with the people behind the improvements. This open exchange between companies is what turns every visit into a new opportunity to learn and improve.
Meeting video: coming soon.
Meeting gallery
Lean Champions 2026 – Meeting #9 at NIKI Ltd.
📅 18 September 2026
The second part of the day brought the Lean Champions community to NIKI Ltd. in Pravets – a company that has been part of the initiative since the very beginning.
Following the morning visit to APS Trading in Botevgrad, participants continued to NIKI, where they had the opportunity to take a closer look at the manufacturing environment, meet the people and see the improvements the team has been working on.
The meeting continued one of the core ideas behind Lean Champions – companies opening their factories to one another, showing the real work and sharing what they have learned along the way. Not only the final results, but also the process, the decisions and the people behind them.
Meeting video: coming soon.
Meeting gallery
The earlier archive below reflects the source through 7 August 2026; September 2026 meeting reports are included above.
Q1 2025 Lean Champions Meeting
Date: 23 April 2025
The first Lean Champions community meeting was hosted by Kostal Bulgaria Automotive. The programme combined an introduction to the initiative, practical exchange and the first participant presentations.
Participating teams documented on the source page:
- APS Trading Ltd.
- Alcomet AD — Automotive Shop
- Alcomet AD — Press Shop
- Kostal Bulgaria Automotive Ltd.
- LEM Bulgaria Ltd.
- Linamar Light Metals Ruse Ltd.
- NIKI Ltd.
- TVH Bulgaria Ltd.
Selected photographs from the event:
The source archive contains 20 photographs from this event; a curated selection is shown here.
Q2 2025 Lean Champions Meeting
Date: 4 July 2025
Alcomet AD hosted the community in Shumen for a plant tour, Lean project presentations and an exchange of practical manufacturing experience.
Participating teams documented on the source page:
- APS Trading Ltd.
- Alcomet AD — Automotive Shop
- Alcomet AD — Press Shop
- Kostal Bulgaria Automotive Ltd.
- LEM Bulgaria Ltd.
- Linamar Light Metals Ruse Ltd.
- NIKI Ltd.
- TVH Bulgaria Ltd.
Selected photographs from the event:
The source archive contains 50 photographs from this event; a curated selection is shown here.
Q3 2025 Lean Champions Meeting
Date: 3 October 2025
Linamar Light Metals Ruse and TVH Bulgaria jointly hosted the Q3 meeting. Participants shared Kaizen work, visited production areas and reviewed 5S and autonomous-maintenance practices.
Participating teams documented on the source page:
- Linamar Light Metals Ruse Ltd.
- TVH Bulgaria Ltd.
- Kostal Bulgaria Automotive Ltd.
- APS Trading Ltd.
- LEM Bulgaria Ltd.
- Alcomet AD — Automotive Shop
- Alcomet AD — Press Shop
- NIKI Ltd.
Selected photographs from the event:
The source archive contains 153 photographs from this event; a curated selection is shown here.
Q4 2025 Lean Champions Meeting
Date: Q4 2025
The Q4 meeting included visits to APS Trading and NIKI, practical demonstrations, project presentations and an exchange of good practices.
Participating teams documented on the source page:
- Kostal Bulgaria Automotive Ltd.
- APS Trading Ltd.
- NIKI Ltd.
- LEM Bulgaria Ltd.
- Alcomet AD — Automotive Shop
- Alcomet AD — Press Shop
- Linamar Light Metals Ruse Ltd.
- TVH Bulgaria Ltd.
Selected photographs from the event:
The source archive contains 130 photographs from this event; a curated selection is shown here.
Lean Champions 2025 Annual Assessment
Date: 8–9 January 2026
The two-day annual assessment in Pravets and Botevgrad brought together the final Q4 project presentations, international-jury assessment and the annual awards ceremony.
Selected photographs from the event:
The source archive contains 68 photographs from this event; a curated selection is shown here.
Lean Champions 2026 Visit to LEM Bulgaria
Date: 17 February 2026
Participants toured the plant, observed the production environment and exchanged practical improvement experience.
Selected photographs from the event:
The source archive contains 44 photographs from this event; a curated selection is shown here.
Lean Champions 2026 Visit to AQ Plastronik
Date: 24 March 2026
The visit focused on the real production environment, a plant tour and the exchange of practical Lean experience between participants.
Selected photographs from the event:
The source archive contains 31 photographs from this event; a curated selection is shown here.
Q1 2026 Lean Champions Meeting at Südwolle Group Italy — Bulsafil
Date: 24 April 2026
The first quarterly meeting of 2026 combined Q1 project presentations, participant voting and ranking, a plant visit and cross-company learning.
Selected photographs from the event:
The source archive contains 54 photographs from this event; a curated selection is shown here.
Lean Champions 2026 Meeting at Kostal Bulgaria Automotive
Date: 22 May 2026
The meeting focused on a plant tour, team development, good-practice exchange and the role of people in sustaining a Lean culture.
Selected photographs from the event:
The source archive contains 27 photographs from this event; a curated selection is shown here.
Lean Champions 2026 Meeting at JDE Bulgaria
Date: 12 June 2026
Participants explored JDE Bulgaria's approach to continuous improvement through a plant tour, practical discussion and shared Lean experience.
Selected photographs from the event:
The source archive contains 26 photographs from this event; a curated selection is shown here.
Q2 2026 Lean Champions Meeting at Ottobock Manufacturing Bulgaria
Date: 3 July 2026
The second quarterly meeting of 2026 covered Q2 progress and projects, a plant tour and practical exchange between companies from different industries.
Selected photographs from the event:
The source archive contains 38 photographs from this event; a curated selection is shown here.
Lean Champions 2026 Meeting No. 7 at Alcomet AD
Date: 7 August 2026
The seventh meeting returned to Alcomet AD for a plant tour, direct observation at the gemba and practical discussion of manufacturing solutions.
Selected photographs from the event:
The source archive contains 25 photographs from this event; a curated selection is shown here.