Glas Trösch Holding AG

A management system successfully established at 43 locations

About Glas Trösch Holding AG
Founded in 1905, Glas Trösch Holding AG is Europe’s largest family-owned glass manufacturing and processing company. With over 70 locations and around 6,000 employees, the company combines deep tradition with modern innovation. In 2017, its subsidiary Euroglas became the first to implement Q.wiki — and has since helped expand it across the entire group.

The challenge before Q.wiki
Euroglas Germany introduced Q.wiki in 2017 to create standardized documentation that would deliver real value to employees. The goal was to move beyond documentation created solely for audits and instead develop process descriptions and work instructions that truly support everyday work. A key requirement: employee participation. Staff should be able to help shape documentation and keep it up to date.

With over 70 sites across Europe, the group faced a major challenge — redundant documentation. Each location ran its own system, even though many processes overlapped. A shared software solution was needed to reduce duplication and enable collaboration across locations.

Why we chose Q.wiki
Q.wiki offered the perfect balance: centralized documentation for the group, plus flexibility for site-specific content. Eliminating duplicate efforts and streamlining onboarding promised significant relief — a major decision factor. We were also convinced by the intuitive user experience, interactive concept, and simple approval workflows. After Q.wiki proved itself at Euroglas Germany, we initiated a group-wide rollout in 2018.

A major bonus: Q.wiki helped us manage matrix certifications far more effectively. While central guidelines already existed, the platform made it easier to distribute, track, and ensure compliance with audit-relevant requirements across all locations.

Rolling out Q.wiki
Together with Modell Aachen, we designed a step-by-step rollout — starting at headquarters and expanding to each location. The foundation was a shared framework of group-wide processes, developed through joint workshops. Each site received its own dedicated space in Q.wiki, allowing employees to manage local requirements within a unified structure. Thanks to strong internal communication and high motivation, Q.wiki quickly gained traction across the organization. In early 2020, Modell Aachen trained the key users at each site. Our central QM team followed up with internal workshops on process and project management — which rapidly filled Q.wiki with valuable content.

Following a train-the-trainer model, these key users then trained their own teams. Additional Q&A sessions supported onboarding and helped everyone get up to speed faster. This approach minimized external costs and encouraged widespread participation from the start. Local ownership of content turned out to be one of the strongest drivers of success.

Success with Q.wiki
Q.wiki’s impact is reflected in our numbers:

• Thousands of page views per month across the interactive management system
• Steady growth in user logins since 2019
• 43 locations now use Q.wiki — with half of all users logging in regularly

Logins and Approvals Across the Group
Our central services team sees about 7,000 guideline accesses per month — covering key areas like purchasing, HR, finance, and accounting.

In just the past six months alone:

• 1,650 new pages were created
• 700 of those were approved through Q.wiki’s workflow

These figures show that Q.wiki has become a vital, actively used knowledge platform at Glas Trösch. Outdated documents have been replaced, written procedures now reflect reality, and shadow documentation is steadily disappearing. A real win!

Major reduction in certification effort
With centralized documentation in Q.wiki, we’ve made major progress toward streamlined matrix certification. Our central services alone are currently supporting 30 audits — and employees maintain and optimize the necessary documentation during regular operations. This has dramatically reduced audit overhead while increasing overall value.

Smooth integration of new locations
Q.wiki has become our go-to information platform, meeting both cross-site and local needs. As we grow, we benefit from how easily new locations can be added to the system. After the first wave of rollouts, we rarely needed additional support from Modell Aachen — giving us the flexibility to expand on our own. Just two and a half years after launch, over 40 sites were already live — and the number keeps rising.