Southco, Inc., a global provider in engineered access solutions, announced that its São Paulo, Brazil facility has earned The International Automotive Task Force (IATF) 16949 Certification.
The IATF certification will help Southco to better serve local manufacturers and suppliers in Brazil’s Automotive market.
IATF 16949:2016 is the International Standard for Automotive Quality Management Systems, jointly developed by IATF members, as a common automotive quality system requirement based on International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001 and customer specific requirements from the Automotive industry.
IATF 16949 emphasizes the development of a process oriented quality management system that provides for continuous improvement, defect prevention, and reduction of waste in the supply chain. The goal of the standard is to meet customer requirements efficiently and effectively. The standard is applicable to any organization that manufactures components, assemblies and parts for supply to the Automotive industry.
Southco has been supplying global automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers with proven access hardware solutions for decades. The IATF certification will help Southco to better serve local manufacturers and suppliers in Brazil’s Automotive market, which produces about three million cars and trucks per year.
“We are proud to be IATF certified as this will allow us to provide more value to our customers in the South American region,” said Marcos Alba, Director of Operations, Southco Brazil. “With this certification, Southco further strengthens its position as a leading supplier of hinging and latching solutions for automotive applications, including glove boxes, center consoles and interior storage compartments.”
Southco acquired Unikey Industrial Components in 2013, expanding the company’s global presence into the South American market. Now known as Southco Brazil, the Company continues to leverage its established global design and manufacturing capabilities to expand its product offering into a wide variety of industry applications in the South American region.
Southco Inc.
southco.com
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