For any company that puts quality management at the top of its priorities, ISO 9001 status is the ultimate accolade, and so it is with Top Tubes, which achieved certification to ISO 9001:2008 in late 2011.
ISO 9001 certification is the internationally recognised benchmark Standard when it comes to quality systems and provides customers with total confidence in Top Tubes’ quality management procedures which, ultimately, are reflected in our product quality. It helps to reinforce our position at the forefront of the tube industry, opening up exciting new possibilities such as the supply of products for higher end applications to OEMs and into export markets, evidence of which is already appearing.
In reality, the gaining of ISO 9001 status provides confirmation of the quality culture which has been in place at Top Tubes for a considerable period of time – dating back to 2007 in fact when our Quality Manager, Steve Powell, soon after arriving in the company, introduced our original Quality Control Mechanisms. Top Tubes’ success to date provides objective evidence that we’ve been able to meet and in many cases exceed customers’ expectations in terms of product quality and quality management. As Steve says, “Top Tubes’ considerable investment in plant and technology in recent years wouldn’t have been possible if our quality systems hadn’t been demonstrably up to the mark". Commenting on the certification, Top Tubes Managing Director Adam Bradley said “Everybody is completely focussed on the quality management system and understands why it is so important that we use it to control our working practices”.
In addition to the ongoing work involved in maintaining the internal disciplines and the continuous improvement required by ISO 9001, the immediate future will see Top Tubes striving for ISO 14001 certification – the environmental standard – which we’re well on the way to achieving, followed by ISO 1800, the ISO Health and Safety certification and culminating in the upgrading of our ISO 9001 certification to the automotive industry-specific TS 16949 Standard.
In terms of industry standards and certifications, it is Top Tubes firm intention to stay not just in step with customers’ rising expectations, but ahead of them.