EU – Baltic States, Good for Business, Latvia, Transport

Press photo.

Ford Motor Company representative Raphael Polaczek, in raising the Q1 flag, emphasized that HGF Rīga has “proven its trust in quality to us and the entire auto industry, which is like an endless journey whose destination is the satisfied customer.”

The product’s coinciding with the Ford quality system’s standards assures HGF inclusion on the list of priority suppliers, which guarantees it larger numbers of ordered products from the auto maker.

HGF Rīga Executive Director Ingūna Šmite told BC: “We are proud to be the first supplier in the Baltic States to have earned this high rating from Ford, and the priority status. Q1 certification attests to the result of the job done by a top-notch, united team. It certainly motivates us to continue, and achieve even higher quality, because quality level can never be too high”.

Šmite points out that completing Q1 requirements is a major step in increasing export and competitiveness, and that the key to success here is the lean approach used in production. It guarantees proper and optimal use of any production resources, keeping wasteful efforts to an absolute minimum.

Earning the status means that the factory’s operational plan, quality control systems, logistics, production volume and customer feedback, point to high quality and the company’s potential for further improvement, growth and development.

To meet Ford’s quality criteria and to qualify for Q1 status, a company first and foremost must operate according to the generally-accepted and familiar ISO14001 and ISO/TS16949 international standards, and must have an uninterrupted partnership with Ford Motor Company of at least six months. During this period, Ford systematically monitors whether the factory meets Q1 norms in terms of quantity and quality, and in the rating has earned no less than 800 (credit) points. Any missteps discovered during regular checks, force extension of the time period to earn Q1.

HGF Rīga, in its half-year overall evaluation, scored 1,000 points, complaints about product, vis-a-vis volume of products sold, were practically nil, and accuracy of delivery in the last 12 months was 92%.