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Metro Plastics Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1975. Currently, the operation utilizes 24 injection machines ranging from 15 ton to 700 ton in a new custom designed, 72,000 square foot, air-conditioned plant. After over 30 years of success, Metro continues to meet customer needs. Metro has grown from a shoot and ship molder into a full-service manufacturing solutions provider. The client base encompasses a wide variety of fields, including; consumer electronics, medical, housewares, food services, automotive, sports equipment, communication devices and many others.

Situation

Metro Plastics was in the process of transitioning to ISO 9001: 2015. In addition to preparing for the new standard, the company had a new individual handling the transition. To ensure the project’s success, the company tapped into the expertise of Purdue MEP.

Solution

Purdue MEP conducted a Gap Analysis on Metro Plastic’s current system, which provided the company with direction and guidance through the transitioning process. Purdue also assisted by including examples of helpful documents, as well as a final visit before the ISO Audit.

Results

Metro Plastics had zero findings on their ISO Transition Audit. Due to Purdue’s help, the company readily had the information needed to present in an organized fashion to the auditor. The company continues to bring in new work, and the ISO Certification helps prove that Metro Plastics meets a standard that is required by many clients. In addition to these additional sales, they were able to save almost $40,000 by using Purdue MEP.

“I was new to the position of Continuous Improvement Specialist with Metro Plastics and my first assignment was the transition to the new standard. The Gap Analysis was used to guide me through the whole transition. The example documents were most helpful and really invaluable! The ease of access and understanding with the utilized templates set the tone for the whole audit.

“We very much appreciate the opportunity and fully support Purdue MEP from which we have benefited. We look at ISO Certification as something that both allows us to be, and to present ourselves as a company that meets a certain level of standards; therefore, each customer we have could be counted towards that direct bottom-line impact.

“We are able to maintain our ISO certification with Purdue MEP and in-house staff saving us nearly $40,000. Thus, our QMS is more self-directed and is representative of the processes we do every day. The improvements in the way we do business with the new standard has dramatically reduced risk. We have been able to attract new high tech programs with an effective QMS without having to be IATF or ISO 13485 approved.”

Tammy Williams, Continuous Improvement Specialist, Metro Plastics