Mar 17 2008
Hydro is one of Toyota's best suppliers. The company has received further proof, having been selected as one of the winners of Toyota¡¯s Excellent Quality Performance Award.
QUALITY: Hydro's Hans-Erik Kristiansson accepts the Toyota award on behalf of the company's aluminium structures plant in Holland, Michigan. Beside Kristiansson is Brian Ehler, the plant's managing director.
Toyota has previously honored the Hydro plant in Holland, Michigan, but never on this level.
"We know Toyota appreciates quality. We make sure that they get what they should expect from us," says Hans-Erik Kristiansson, who leads Hydro's aluminium automotive structures business.
The honor reflects positively on the competence and determination of Hydro's 200 employees at the Holland plant, says managing director Brian Ehler. The site is part of the company's network of suppliers of light-weight crash management components.
"This award from the world's largest automaker - known for extremely high quality standards ¨C increases our confidence in the products and services that we deliver," he says. "Our standard is a very high standard. The quality level is on top in our industry."
Exceeding expectations
The award recognizes suppliers who exceed Toyota's expectations in the areas of launch performance, technology, supplier diversity, value improvement, quality and delivery.
Both Ehler and Kristiansson were invited as Toyota's special guests at the March ceremony. This year's event brought together some 500 suppliers from across North America.
"Toyota works closely with our North American suppliers in order to build our top quality vehicles; therefore, we take this opportunity to recognize outstanding performance of our top suppliers," says Toyota senior vice president Atsushi Kume. "Suppliers' commitment to continuous improvement is key to achieving Toyota's long-term focus on quality and value."
Posted March 18th,2008