Graftech International
"From bankruptcy risk to $100M+ in liability reduction in 4 years."
A company facing collapse used the Decalogue methodology — TOC fused with Deming — to stage a complete turnaround.
The challenge
Graftech International (NYSE: GTI) faced simultaneous crises: a €50.4M European Commission antitrust fine, over $100M in combined antitrust and pension liabilities, and mounting debt threatening the company's viability. Conventional restructuring alone was not enough.
The TOC solution
Dr. Domenico Lepore was brought in as Senior Advisor to implement the Decalogue — a 10-step whole-system transformation methodology synthesizing Goldratt's TOC with Deming's System of Profound Knowledge. It was the first company-wide Decalogue application ever documented.
What happened
Over four years, Lepore worked with Graftech's leadership to rebuild the company's operating model from its foundations. The combination of TOC flow thinking and Deming's quality philosophy addressed both the financial structure and the operational reality. The turnaround was complete enough that two senior managers later joined Lepore to form a new holding company to acquire and transform further businesses using the same methodology.