Schaeffler UK recognised for quality excellence

At the Wales Quality Awards 2012, Schaeffler UK received the coveted Overall Quality Award, as well as the "Process" Prize. The annual awards ceremony took place at the City Hall, Cardiff on 13th December 2012. Accepting the awards on behalf of Schaeffler UK were Roger Evans MBE (Plant Director), Donna Williams-Bevan (Training Officer), Dorian Quirk (Quality Manager), Adrian Roberts (HR Director), Joachim Haes (Automotive Operations), Mark Tucker (Plant Controller), Dr David Bate (Consultant) and Sarah Townsend (Consultant).

The Wales Quality Award is an annual competition based on the EFQM European Excellence Model. The awards are open to all companies based in Wales, including manufacturers, financial organisations, service providers, hospitals, educational establishments and local councils.

Winning a Wales Quality Award is an accolade for any business. The judging and assessment process, which is carried out by a panel of independent industry experts from the private and public sectors, has grown to become one of the most popular awards in Europe. Many organisations that take part in the awards process do so year after year, as they use the process as a fundamental part of their company's planning process to drive business improvement.

Vincent Kane, Chairman of the Wales Quality Centre, the organisation responsible for the Wales Quality Awards, comments: "Schaeffler's triumph was richly deserved; all the more so since the standard of the top four contenders was very high this year. But Schaeffler emerged clear winners and that is a triumph, not only of quality, but of leadership, determination, and perseverance.

"They decided five years ago to pursue manufacturing excellence using the vehicle of the Wales Quality Award and the excellence model and they understood from the start it would not be an easy journey. But they stuck to it with tenacity and intelligence, improving and learning year on year and now they have through their sustained efforts made themselves a model for manufacturing excellence in Wales."

High-precision engine components

Established in 1955, the Llanelli plant manufactures high-precision engine components for the automotive market. The plant currently employs 250 people and is an autonomous subsidiary of multi-national German-owned company Schaeffler.

Roger Evans, Plant Director at Schaeffler UK comments: "Although Schaeffler has won an award from the Wales Quality Centre each year since 2008, this is the first time that we've won the Overall Quality Award. We are very proud to receive this award, which we believe acknowledges our ongoing commitment to continuous improvement here at the plant. Together, the two awards recognise our strategy, plans and processes that we are preparing, which will ensure the success of Schaeffler UK in the future."

For more information about Schaeffler's automotive component manufacturing plant, please email [email protected], or visit the website at www.schaeffler.co.uk/.