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Syfan Sets Standards in Martin County
Everetts, NC (July 22, 2007)—“I didn’t think I was going to get emotional, but I guess I am,” began Belinda Williams, project and safety manager for Syfan USA Corp. as she addressed the crowd of supporters. Syfan celebrated one year’s worth of effort and the subsequent result, ISO 9001 certification.
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| Syfan ISO team members left to right: Belinda Williams, Erica McDonald, Phil Mintz, Heather McGee and Krystal Cherry |
Williams was the ISO project leader and knew firsthand the trials and tribulations involved in obtaining the certification. She also recognizes that the hardest job is yet to come-maintaining the certification.
The North American plant began operation in January of 2005. In October they embarked upon the momentous task of becoming ISO certified. Parent company, Syfan Manufacturing in Israel, which began 15 production years prior, had stressed the importance of consistent certification for both facilities. The Everetts plant enlisted the help of North Carolina State University and the Industrial Extension Service (IES).
“This process takes commitment,” said Phil Mintz, continuous improvement manager for IES. “The entire organization has to believe in this mission and Syfan had that commitment and persistence.”
ISO Recognized Worldwide
ISO (International Organization of Standardization) provides quality management standardization with the goal of enhancing customer satisfaction and providing tools for continuous improvement.
The ISO 9001 standard helps companies develop training consistencies, document and data control, a quality policy and proper record documentation.It also includes a self-auditing component so that long-term results are sustained.
Economic Benefits
Generally, receiving ISO certification directly corresponds to additional customers and additional customers result in increased business. Increased business generally leads to the need for additional employees.
Additional employees are good for the economy, especially in the most distressed counties or Tier 1 counties like Martin County. Tier 1 counties as described by the N.C. Department of Commerce are based on unemployment rate, median household income, population growth and assessed property value per capita. A Tier 1 county is classified as having a population of less than 12,000 or with a population of fewer than 50,000 residents with 19 percent or more of those people living below the federal poverty level.
Tier designations determine the available amount of tax credits for job creation and business property investment. Businesses locating or expanding in counties that are more economically distressed receive greater tax credits than those that locate in more prosperous areas.
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Raw material used to produce shrink and over wrap film at Syfan. |
“Syfan was the first company that came to the table offering more than minimum wage which is a major step for a Tier 1 county,” said Bill Beach, Martin County Economic Development Corporation volunteer board member. “Syfan’s wages were well above minimum wage and they are taking us (our county) to the next level.”
Syfan manufactures shrink and over-wrap ranging from 45-150 gauge used in a variety of applications. The raw material is a pellet-sized granule that is processed with heat and additional additives depending upon the desired product. They also produce an anti-fog wrap called RF4 that is extremely durable and used in the meat packaging process.
Syfan has recently begun to work toward certification from the American Institute of Bakers, which will allow them additional food wrap specifications.
IES is the state-wide arm of NC State University’s College of Engineering that partners with business and industry to transfer knowledge and technology that lowers costs, improves quality and shortens lead times, through assistance with programs such as, ISO management systems, Six Sigma and lean.
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