Browsing Tag

quality management

Partners Quality

punker is RATIONAL’s “Supplier of the Year” 2017

September 29th, 2018 was a special day for punker. The company RATIONAL AG had its technical director Peter Wiedemann as well as Wolfgang Wirtz, Aldo Paintner and Dr. Uli Mach personally bring us very good news: the award of punker GmbH as “Supplier of the Year” 2017.

SelfCookingCenter (c) RATIONAL AG

RATIONAL AG is a very important customer for punker and manufactures combination ovens, i.e. “SelfCookingCenter” for the thermal preparation of food in gastronomy, canteen kitchens, chain stores and catering. In the meantime, Rational has advanced to become the world’s largest manufacturer in this sector. We have been able to accompany Rational on this path since 2002. The fact that we have developed into a strategically important partner for Rational during this time is also shown by the development of the quantities of spot-welded fan wheels that we supply – these have increased 4.5 times since the beginning of the cooperation. The fan wheels supplied by us guarantee a perfectly matched air distribution in the appliance for an even cooking result.

Now for the good news: punker has again managed to become the “Supplier of the Year” with more than 96 points in 2017 due to the outstanding delivery and quality performance in the year 2017. In a solemn hour Peter Wiedemann emphasized the extraordinary performance of the punker team. Around 60 colleagues were able to receive the great award this morning.

After the first top ranking in 2004, a 2nd place in 2011 followed, which was transformed into a 1st place again in 2012. In the year 2017 our team has now reached first place for the third time. It is no coincidence that Dr. Uli Mach’s eulogy says “right up to the worker, everyone identifies with the Rational product”.

At punker, we attach great importance to long-term cooperation with our customers – which has paid off in the case of Rational through repeated occupancy of the TOP 5 places in the supplier evaluation.

Partners Quality

DGQ praises Lean Management at punker GmbH

During a visit in Eckernfoerde the Schleswig-Holstein Regional Group of the German Association for Quality (DGQ) convinces itself of the high quality standards at punker.

Several times a year, the Schleswig-Holstein Regional Group of the German Association for Quality (DGQ) meets at various locations to discuss the latest developments in the field of quality management and related topics. Participants are primarily quality managers from Schleswig-Holstein companies.

On the initiative of the regional district management, such a meeting took place at punker at the end of August 2018. It gave us the opportunity to introduce ourselves and our activities in lean management and excellence. After the presentation and the tour of the plant, the participants were impressed by the changes we have implemented in recent years. In addition to the boards on which we carry out the daily detailed planning, the topic of order and cleanliness (5S) was of particular interest. Especially the prefabrication was praised as exemplary by the visitors.

“The punker GmbH is also an economically successful example of a quality leader, with which the conformity ‘drops off’, because the processes are controlled.
Kai-Uwe Behrends | DGQ Office

Such feedback is important for us in order to recognize where we stand in comparison to other companies. The application for this year’s MX-Award and the meeting of the “Network of Excellence” of Rational AG, which was recently held at our company in Eckernfoerde, served the same purpose.

During the event, Dr. Klaus Thoms handed over the management of the regional district to his successor Bernd Fries after 18 years in office.

Read DGQ’s visit report here (German article)

Markets

Our site at Hickory, NC is now ISO 9001 certified!

When punker LLC was founded at the new location in North Carolina it was already clear that there could only be one benchmark / standard for punker quality. Right from the start, the customers served by punker LLC should be able to experience the quality of products and services they were accustomed to. Consequently, only a comprehensive quality management system could be considered. At punker headquarters in Eckernförde this quality management system has been in effect for years. It is successfully certified according to DIN EN ISO 9001, the internationally recognized standard for quality management systems, and is being advanced continuously. In order for this certificate to be valid for our new site in Hickory, part of this year’s surveillance audit was performed by TÜV Nord (certification body in Germany) in Hickory for the first time.

In the run-up to this audit numerous specification documents had to be translated and adapted to the conditions in the US. Trainings on-site and at our headquarters in Eckernförde conveyed our understanding of quality to our colleagues in Hickory. This transfer of knowledge proved successful during the audit: no deviations were detected. As a reward for their efforts, our colleagues in the US received their own certificate issued by TÜV Nord.

More information from TÜV NORD CERT:
http://www.tuev-nord.de/de/qualitaet/din-en-iso-9001-9181.htm
http://www.tuev-nord.de/cps/rde/xbcr/SID-683B6491-CF3D2D13/tng_de/ISO_9001.pdf