Implement cross-business unit strategy understanding
The STIWA Group is a family-owned company based in Attnang-Puchheim and is one of the leading suppliers in the field of manufacturing automation, with a comprehensive range of services including mechanical engineering, software development and service. The automotive supply production (on own high performance automation) has developed as a second successful pillar. With locations in Austria, Germany, USA and China, the company currently has approx. 2000 employees and achieves an annual turnover of over 250 million €.
Our mission
- Strategy development at overall company, business unit, and international site level
- Development of a uniform overall process that ensures that the approach and results are comparable across the entire Group
- Establishment of reviewing processes to implement continuous strategy updates
- Support of the individual management teams in the development of the respective strategies (moderation of workshops, coaching of analysis teams, etc.)

Photo: STIWA Group
Project Facts
Client
STIWA Group, Attnang-Puchheim
Branch
High-performance automation, automotive supplier production
Topic
Strategy development
Method
Development of overall structure and process for group-wide strategy development, moderation of analysis and decision workshops at the level of the entire company and business units
“IMARK’s support enabled the newly established business units to independently define their strategic direction for the coming years. The process facilitators got so far into the specific business of high-performance automation that they were very well able to challenge and question our ideas.”
– Wolfram Schrittesser, Management STIWA Automation GmbH –
Our approach
- Moderation of strategy workshops at the level of the entire company (owner, management, division management)
- Support of the business unit and location teams in the positioning process
- Coaching of the project managers in analysis and preparation
- Moderation of the annual review meetings for the ongoing update of strategies at the level of the company as a whole and the business units

Photo: STIWA Group
Strategy work at the following levels:
Level
Overall company
Guiding framework and basic strategy: goals and priorities, portfolio of business units and technologies, core competencies, values, differentiation, strategic initiatives
Level
Business Units
Positioning: trends, sub-markets / segments, goals, differentiation, measures
The establishment of a STIWA-wide strategy process has ensured uniformity of approach across all business units and international locations. The results of the individual strategy teams are thus always based on the same foundation, the comparability of the results is guaranteed, and a common understanding of strategy is promoted within the company (common language, common tools, uniform form of reporting); in addition, the quality of the strategy work is increased at all levels.
Results and the consequences thereof
- Clarity in the holding management regarding the future focus (goals, technologies, strategic initiatives) and growth ambitions of the company as a whole
- Clarity in the eight business units and the international locations about the future alignment (sub-markets – segments, targets, strategic priorities, and measures)
- Certainty that defined focal points and measures will also be implemented by linking the results of the strategy development with the internal Balanced Scorecard processes.
“IMARK has brought our strategy work to a new level of quality at all levels. The uniform process ensures that everyone is pulling in the same direction, speaking the same language and that a common picture of our future has developed.”
– DI Walter Simunek, Head of Quality Management and Organizational Development, STIWA Group –