Watts Becomes Certified Toyota Supplier

Watts Industrial Tyres was recently names as one of 20 select suppliers who achieved “Certified” status at Toyota’s annual supplier meeting in Ancenis near Nantes, France. In addition the company was one of only 13 suppliers presented with a special award for delivering 100 per cent of product to line on time over the assessed 12-month period.

Toyota Industrial Equipment S.A. (TIE SA) has grown substantially since the factory was built in Ancenis, near Nantes, on the West coast of France, and produced its first forklifts in 1996. TIE introduced its Certification process in 2004, with scores awarded to its suppliers for their performance in four key categories, quality, cost, delivery and environmental management. Watts Industrial Tyres achieved an overall score of 94 per cent for 2006 with Toyota awarding “Certified” status to those suppliers who achieve 90% or higher.

Commenting on the award Carlo Piccirilli, Sales & Marketing Director for the Watts Tyre Group highlighted: “We are very proud to be associated with a quality global manufacturer such as Toyota, and supplying such prestigious OEM accounts is extremely demanding. To be awarded certified status whilst achieving a 100 per cent delivery score is testimony to the quality of our products, service and personnel. Since introducing the Certification process, Toyota has encouraged its supplier base to work closely as partners rather than suppliers, with emphasis on quality, cost, delivery and respect for the environment.”

In fact, Watts recently achieved ISO14001 status, after encouragement from Toyota. The ISO 14001:2004 standard is a benchmark for environmental control, which enables the company to limit its environmental impact both locally and globally.

Watts has been the UK’s market leader in the supply and fit of wheel and tyre solutions to the materials handling market for over 40 years, and has a network of distributors stretching across 60 countries, with manufacturing facilities and owned distribution in France, Germany, USA, Mexico, Sri Lanka, China, Brazil and more recently Watts Zarya Ltd, based in Bulgaria.

As a major OEM supplier, the creation of Watts Zarya, a joint venture between Watts Tyres and Balkancar allows Watts to continue delivering high quality and reliable products, with the added value of offering complete wheel and tyre solutions to the Original Equipment Industry on a just in time basis.