The audit, the first automotive appraisal in TR Kuhlmann’s history, assessed the firm against the German VDA 6.3 standard, which looks at the quality of specific products and components. TR Kuhlmann achieved an ‘A’ ranking with a score of 96% in recognition of its excellence in manufacturing, distribution and consultancy capabilities when supplying to Tier 1 and 2 automotive businesses.
TR is a full service provider to the automotive industry, supplying over 50 billion fastener components to more than 5,000 companies globally, largely tier 1 businesses supplying major automotive OEMs. After being introduced to TR Kuhlmann and issuing initial RFQs, KA became interested taking the firm on as a supplier and organised the audit, which took place in April 2017. Now that the audit has been passed with such a high score, the two companies are now working towards a potential partnership.
The success of TR Kuhlmann follows a move by the wider TR group to work towards adopting VDA 6.3 standards throughout its automotive operations. In recent years, TR has noticed an increased focus amongst its global automotive customers on the German VDA 6.3 standard, In response, TR has invested in specific training for its Supplier Quality Managers, resulting in them being fully certified to assess products and suppliers against VDA requirements.
Peter Henning, director at TR Kuhlmann, commented: “The shift in focus towards VDA 6.3 as a preferred standard for automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers has been noticeable in recent months, and having received the invitation to undertake the KA audit, we were thrilled to be able to rise to the challenge and show our capabilities and strengths in this sector. We are delighted with the high score we achieved and are now looking forward to the exciting prospect of working further with KA in the coming months and years.”
