Computer Manufacturer’s Sales Soar with Aerospace Certification

Trenton Systems in Lawrenceville, Georgia, makes custom computers designed for use in rugged environments. Started by a forward-thinking group of business partners in 1989, the company has stayed true to its commitment to manufacturing in the United States for over thirty years. They provide computing solutions for the critical infrastructure of the country, including many government and armed forces customers.

As a result, Trenton never wanted to be dependent on suppliers in other countries because of the vulnerabilities it could create for the safety of their customers and ultimately to national security. This mission has driven them to create cutting-edge, customized products of the highest quality. Their specialized processor boards are wrapped in ruggedized enclosures that allow them to withstand unusual and sometimes difficult circumstances on military bases and in military vehicles across the five domains of battlespace, “land, air, sea, space, and cyberspace,” including aircraft, submarines, tanks, and drones.

Toni Lynn Hauck, vice president of operations and quality, joined Trenton Systems in 2016 and was immediately tasked with ISO 9001 certification. Having worked with the Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership (GaMEP) at Georgia Tech, part of the MEP National Network™, to complete ISO certifications at several past companies, she knew who to call for help. GaMEP worked with Hauck’s quality team to implement the ISO 9001 system and achieve certification.

After the success of the ISO 9001 certification, the company almost immediately began to consider AS9100D as a way to better serve their current customers and expand their customer base by allowing them to compete for specialized aerospace contracts. Yazz Krdzalic, vice president of marketing, explained, “The modern battlefield changes quickly, so we have to be able to continue to innovate to serve our customers.”

In late 2021, GaMEP Project Manager Rodger Weyant conducted a 2-day internal audit of Trenton Systems’ quality management system to the requirements of AS9100D and provided a detailed audit report with his findings. Weyant said, “They already had a strong system in place, but AS9100D is a very detailed standard because of the specificity required for aerospace products. I provided a report with recommendations on how they could tweak what they were already doing to meet those requirements.”

Hauck and her team worked to implement the recommendations provided by Weyant and successfully completed their certification audit a few months later. Hauck said, “It seems like the day we got that certification, everything changed. We are growing exponentially and it is a very exciting time.”