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Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP)

ISO Certification Unlocks New Business for Growing Manufacuture

With the help of: Ohio Manufacturing Extension Partnership (Ohio MEP)

About

Founded in 2009, the KMAK Group is a dynamic and diversified manufacturing company that specializes in  injection molding, assembly, and plastic recycling.  The company's customers come from many different markets, including the automotive, heavy truck, and retail industries. FMAK is located near central Ohio in London, and ISO 9001 2015 certified as of July 2024.

The Challenge

A new client required KMAK Group to become ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001 certified. The new client business was valued at several million dollars annually and KMAK could begin supplying parts as long as they embarked on the ISO process. The MEP at Columbus State, part of the Ohio MEP and the MEP National Network™, has previously worked with KMAK on several projects including a new website, energy assessment which led to $90,000 in annual savings and talent recruitment.  KMAK asked the MEP for guidance on the ISO certification.
The ISO certification required a lot from our team, particularly our quality coordinator, but that burden was mitigated a great deal by the expertise and resources the MEP and Corporate Advantage Network brought to the process. We had previously begun the ISO process before, but the demands and initiative took a back seat to the day-to-day requirements of production.  There was never a question that we had to complete this process to keep this new business, and the support of the MEP made this journey possible.
— Kevin Henry, CEO

MEP's Role

The MEP at Columbus State brought in its ISO certification partner Corporate Advantage Network and their principal consultant Bill Soller. Soller has partnered with the MEP on dozens of quality and environmental management systems and ISO certification projects over the years. Soller worked with KMAK CEO Kevin Henry and Shauna Marshall to implement the policies, procedures and documentation required for the certification audit.

The process to build the 9001 QMS and 14001 EMS took nine months to complete, but when the day of the audit certification came KMAK passed with ease and the auditor “declared KMAK was one of the most prepared companies” they had ever audited.  The audit was supposed to take the majority of the day but wrapped up by lunch time.

Created January 30, 2025