Sintered Metal Products Achieves IATF Certification

S intered Metal Products has achieved IATF 16949 certification, which says Pierre Wentzel, a director at Sintered Metal products, will aid in job creation and localisation of content.

Sinter Metals, which produces a diverse range of automotive components such as shock absorber components, sprockets, pulleys and bearings for 1st and 2nd tier original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), was assisted by BSI Group, the national standards body of the UK, to achieve the certification.

Both companies are members of the National Association Automotive Component and Allied Manufacturers (NAACAM), which has been championing the automotive industry masterplan to 2035. The vision of the plan is to, among others, increase local content in South African assembled vehicles to up to 60% and double total employment in the automotive value chain.

BSI, which supplies certification and standards services to businesses, assisted the automotive parts manufacturer to SINTERED METAL PRODUCTS ACHIEVES IATF CERTIFICATION accelerate certification of its localised production to a globally recognised standard, providing the organisation with a “passport to business”.

THE BENEFIT

Certification to IATF 16949 is widely recognised across the automotive manufacturing sector as demonstrating a commitment to quality products and services throughout the supply chain. Based on ISO 9001, it provides best-practice when designing, manufacturing, installing or servicing automotive products, a requirement throughout much of the global automotive industry.

“Sintered’s successful certification to the standard represents a major breakthrough. It is expected to help reshape the wider automotive component production landscape in South Africa, where there has been a tendency to rely on imported products,” Mr Wentzel said.

“Achieving IATF 16949 status adds value from continuous improvement via regular external audits. Using risk-based methodology, Sintered has been able to streamline its QMS, driving focused improvement and confidence that paved the way for investment of R7.5-million in new furnace technology.”

Mr Wentzel said the IATF 16949 status would also give Sinter a competitive advantage as the quality management system is equivalent to that used by OEMs. “That in itself gives us the opportunity to aid in job creation as we can only create jobs if we have quality sales.”

Since achieving IATF 16949, Sintered has won business worth R5-million with the potential for contracts worth a further R10-million. Meanwhile, it has seen a reduction in internal process scrap from 3.5% to 1.5%, a year-on-year reduction in 2020 of 57%.