Avon Magnetics achieves AS9100 in UK first

One of the UK's leading designers and manufacturers of transformers, inductors and associated wound components for the aerospace and defence industry, Avon Magnetics has achieved certification to AS9100 with LRQA.

The organisation believes that it is the first in its field to gain certification to this valuable aerospace standard within the UK. The move was prompted by the launch of the 21st century supply chain (SC21) initiative.

SC21 was launched by the aerospace industry to ensure the continued competitiveness of the UK aerospace and defence sector. This requires signatories to put into practice improvement processes in order to ensure the UK supply chain remains competitive and delivers increased value to customers. As part of this, organisations are encouraged to gain independent certification to AS9100.

Pete Johnson, Quality Manager explains the benefits that this move has brought Avon. "As a transformer manufacturer, we wanted to show our commitment to the aerospace industry by signing up to SC21 and adopting AS9100. This has seen us carry out a radical overhaul of our management system in order to meet the standard's strict criteria.

"Without LRQA we couldn't have achieved what we have. Our assessor gave us the support and guidance we needed following the first visit so that we had time to implement the changes needed before the formal visit. Between visits, we were able to make use of the LRQA technical helpdesk which proved useful.

"Having an LRQA approved system means that we as a company maintain our processes in good order and keep them on track," he concludes.

Posted on website - January 2009

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