ISO Certification Opens Doors That Produce Increased Sales

Background:

Star-Glo Industries (SGI) was incorporated in 1950 and now occupies plant and office facilities of approximately 100,000 sq. ft. in East Rutherford, NJ. A privately owned and non-union shop, Star-Glo with the help of its eighty-eight employees has steadily progressed to a leadership position in Swiss screw machining, rubber, rubber-to-metal components, and assemblies.

SGI specializes in custom manufactured parts and assemblies, selling to both commercial and government markets including Military, Aerospace, Electronics, Inflation Components, Transportation, Welding, Packaging, and Business Machines.  The Company’s complete capabilities guarantee quality control, realistic shipping dates and very
competitive prices.

Challenge:

SGI has been in business for over 65 years. Many employees have spent their entire careers at Star Glo.   The company had been operating the same way for many decades.  Long time clients were now looking for certifications from its suppliers and many doors were closed because SGI was lacking them.

SGI needed a cultural change in which its employees are shown an enhanced and more proficient way of operating.  In a changing business environment it was time to update SGI’s antiquated Quality Control system.  Without certification, SGI would lose a large portion of its current customer base, not be able to win new business, and continue to operate in an inefficient manner.

With training and certification, SGI would evolve into the company it was meant to be, well situated and capable of tackling future challenges and opportunities.

Solution:

Ed Peterhoff, President of Star Glo Industries called NJMEP to schedule an appointment to discuss ISO training to achieve certification. During the meeting NJMEP and Mr. Peterhoff discussed certification requirements at length, the best approach to securing the certification and the cost associated with it.  They also discussed the funding opportunity that was currently available through the New Jersey Department of Labor’s Skill4Jersey Grant. Securing a grant would greatly reduce the costs for the training, and SGI was a great candidate.

Together NJMEP and SGI developed a training plan that would meet the certification requirements and not interfere with production. The application was completed and when notification of approval was received, training began.

Over a 12 month period, NJMEP trained SGI’s employees in ISO Quality Systems.

Results:

In the close-out report for the grant, Mr. Peterhoff reported how SGI benefitted from its work with NJMEP, “The ISO certification training was a huge success for us.  We improved our overall management system along with operations and information flow.  SGI is more competitive now that we have reached ISO certification status. We involved everyone in the certification process whether it was through formal training or tasks that needed to be completed to help us reach certification.  It was a real team effort.”

“Throughout the process we uncovered several areas where improvements need to be made, which we are addressing.  Our focus had been passing the audit, which we did successfully and it has resulted in new customers.”

Increased sales: $500,000 as a result of new markets /new customers.

Retained Sales: $250,000 as a result of not losing customers who were now requiring certification
from their vendors.

Cost Savings: $150,000 as a result of greater efficiencies and the reduced training costs

New Employees: 7 to meet the needs of increased sales.

Workforce practices: $75,000 invested in people through grant matching requirements as well
as direct investment.

Mr. Peterhoff also noted in his report, “Our instructor, Martin Ziegler was excellent. He pushed us when we needed to be pushed and guided us in the right direction.  He was extremely knowledgeable; his expertise was invaluable.  NJMEP walked us through the application process right from the beginning and helped us manage the grant throughout the entire process.  We would definitely work with NJMEP again.  They are a valuable resource for Star Glo.”