Another Schaeffler Group location has received the prestigious Q1 Award from the Ford Motor Company. With this award, Ford recognizes its best suppliers exclusively. It was granted to the Schaeffler plant in Elfershausen near Schweinfurt which also manufactures suspension strut bearings for automobile chassis.
"The Q1 Award is appropriate recognition of the high level of personal responsibility displayed by all employees at this plant and the continuous pursuit of excellent quality in products and processes," says Dr. Jens Krohn, Plant Director at Elfershausen.
To qualify as a Ford Q1 supplier, vendors must achieve a high level of technical excellence and meet the automaker's stringent requirements for quality, on-time delivery and materials management. Ford uses the Q1 Award to demonstrate its ongoing commitment to continuous improvement in quality and productivity.
Ford and the Schaeffler Group are very much tuned to the same wavelength in this regard. "We have always been focused on zero-defect," explains Walter Sweet, Head of Central Quality Assurance at the Schaeffler Group. "Our Fit for Quality program provides a worldwide framework which enables us to achieve consistent top quality. And this applies to all the products from Schaeffler locations worldwide. "
"For us this award is an incentive not only to continue to meet our customers’ high demands, but to push the boundaries of what is possible even further," says Jörg Wagner, Head of the Chassis Applications business unit of Schaeffler Group Automotive.
Ford and Schaeffler have enjoyed a long-standing business relationship over many years. As early as at the end of the 1950s (during the development of Ford 12M “Cardinal” launched in 1962), Schaeffler was certified by Ford in Detroit. One of the many successful joint projects is the development and production of the first modern-design camshaft phasing unit. It is used on both sides of the Atlantic; the first car in Europe to be equipped with this component was the compact sport coupe Ford Puma. The suspension strut bearings manufactured at Schaeffler’s plant in Elfershausen can, for instance, be found in the Ford Fiesta.
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