The roster of QCA Certified Supplies continues to grow, as Crown Products has been granted QCA Accreditation. By going through the process, the company says it now has strengthened internal controls, employee security and quality control over its factories. Plus the documentation is available to answer very detailed customer questions regarding compliance.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (November 14, 2012) – The Quality Certification Alliance (QCA), the promotional product industry’s only independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping companies provide safe products, has granted QCA Accreditation to Mobile, Alabama-based Crown Products, Inc.
To achieve QCA Accreditation, Crown Products began by endorsing a self-certification and completing a rigorous self-assessment, followed by the company submitting its headquarters and supply base to multiple third-party audits. The QCA board then used a scorecard representing the performance of the company and its supply chain on the third-party audits as the foundation for granting accreditation.
“While we tried to ensure everything was compliant with CPSIA, FDA and all other federal and state regulations, once we began the QCA Certification Program we learned that not only were our procedures not as detailed as they needed to be but also that we did not have any procedures at all in other areas where they were required. Additionally, our processes needed to be documented more in the production areas, and we were way below par in the aspects of flow-charting our product development steps,” said Janie Chestang, vice president of procurement for Crown Products. “By going through all the steps necessary to achieve QCA Accreditation, we now have more internal controls, more employee security and more quality control over our factories. We implemented sign-off processes for new products, created our CTPAT manual and now have the documentation to answer very detailed customer questions regarding compliance.”
It’s a rigorous process and, according to Dorene Lanza, Crown Products’ marketing manager, it is a major accomplishment that will help distinguish Crown Products in the marketplace. “By joining the other top promotional products companies that have achieved this prestigious certification, we are able to move forward in servicing those customers who require QCA Accreditation as a prerequisite for doing business,” she says. “Partnering with QCA on our compliance efforts demonstrates our continued commitment to providing safe, high quality products, and we will continue to set our standards high and give assurance to our customers that we will always be complaint with the guidelines.”
