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Staying Current with ISO Certification Allows Textiles Coated International to Retain Customers and Get New Ones
With the help of: New Hampshire Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NHMEP)
About
In 1985 Steve Tippett, then CEO, and his partner started Textiles Coated International (TCI). By 2005 they had outgrown their original facility in Amherst, New Hampshire and moved into a much larger space in Manchester, New Hampshire. Today John Tippett is their CEO, and Textiles Coated International now has over 180,000 square feet of manufacturing space and 265 employees.
Textiles Coated International is a leading global manufacturer and supplier of high-performance fluoropolymer films, laminates, and composites. The markets and industries they serve are composite process materials, electrical/electronics, medical/pharmaceutical, chemical process, architectural/greenhouses, fabrication/welding, solar energy, protective/decorative, ducting, insulation jacketing, flexible connectors, tank sealing, conveyor belting, and spill containment/secondary containment.
The Challenge
“If we wanted to retain certain customers and get new ones, we needed to be ISO certified,” said Peter Spohn, Director of Business Development for Textiles Coated International. Recently they attended the NH MEP ISO 9001:2008 Collaborative Training Program and became ISO certified. “But to keep our business current we realized we needed to upgrade to ISO 9001:2015,” said Spohn. “Again we turned to NH MEP for help with handling our ISO upgrade training.” This time, the training would be done on-site.
NH MEP exceeded our expectations through great flexibility and their very hands-on approach with our teams. Going through the NH MEP Certification Programs for ISO was one of the best decisions Textiles Coated International (TCI) could have made. As a result of our ISO 9001:2015 upgrade certification we have seen significant growth in new products for new markets with increased quality standards.
MEP's Role
In 2017 Textiles Coated International began their ISO 9001:2015 upgrade on-site training. The NH MEP instructors came on-site a number of times over a 4-week period.
The NH MEP training consisted of writing their quality manual, writing effective work instructions and process documentation, performing internal audits, performing process improvements, documenting corrective actions, working in teams, and improving communication skills.
At the end of the training the Textiles Coated International Quality Management System was audited. Textiles Coated International was then awarded their ISO 9001:2015 upgrade certification in late October of 2017. “We passed with flying colors and are good to go,” said Spohn.