Quality Assurance

As the lead quality engineer at Cooper Standard ISG’s main thermoplastic extrusion plant, my work is generally behind the scenes. Having worked here for around four years, which is considerably shorter than many colleagues with twenty years or more of experience, I bring an external viewpoint due to my recent work at other plants.

Our plant is ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified, with a quality management system that meets all requirements. The team is deeply dedicated to ensuring precision in every part consistently.

Cooper Standard Industrial & Specialty Group, being part of a global company, provides extensive resources locally, including regular meetings with the North American Quality Group for support. Our long-standing expertise in extrusion fosters a collaborative environment where best practices are shared, lessons are learned, and mutual troubleshooting can occur, offering a wealth of expertise to leverage. 

Customers See the Difference

I typically work behind the scenes and am usually only contacted by customers in rare instances.  Recently, I visited a new customer, a Tier 1 supplier for a well-known commercial truck brand, who had experienced significant quality problems with other suppliers  for a component. After switching to Cooper Standard ISG Spring Lake, their quality issues were resolved, and they have reported great satisfaction with the high-quality parts received. This positive feedback made me proud of my team, plant, and the company, highlighting the excellence of the group I am a part of. 

Behind the Scenes 

Quality assurance can seem complex and technical, involving various documents and processes. At Cooper Standard ISG Spring Lake facility, our approach stands out through meticulous order analysis by our team to optimize extrusion, cutting and packaging methods for your applications. We also carefully curate precise dimensions and tolerances to reduce waste, saving you both time and money down the line, while also being environmentally friendly.

Early planning on our part helps ensure intricate parts are handled and shipped securely to your location.

After obtaining approval for the manufacturability and production plan, we create our own tooling internally to enhance precision, accuracy, and efficiency, unlike most manufacturers who outsource this process. We conduct thorough testing on several samples to ensure the production of parts with the desired profile and dimensional stability.  

During the extrusion process, our production lines undergo meticulous scrutiny as they continuously operate, cutting precise lengths from  1/8 of an inch to  12 feet long consecutively.  We closely monitor the process to detect any deviations, with parts measured regularly for consistency. Each operator is accompanied by two quality technicians to verify measurements to maintain quality standards.

The instant warning system at our plants allows operators to quickly alert various stakeholders if they notice any deviations.  This system ensures immediate alerts to relevant personnel, updates on status boards, and prompt response from the quality team for testing and assistance. In case of potential issues, up to 100% of parts are tested to identify and address any out-of-spec items efficiently, minimizing waste and preventing defective parts from reaching customers. 
This proactive approach contrasts with less sophisticated processes at other facilities. The operator might simply yell over to the supervisor “hey call quality,” and the supervisor would place a call to try to get someone to the line to check it out. However, delays in response could lead to increased waste due to continued production of out-of-spec parts before intervention. The system here at Spring Lake is much faster—it’s like a quality assurance 911 call! 

Come See Us!

If you think you can benefit from expertly monitored, high precision thermoplastic extrusion processes on your next project, give us a call here at Cooper Standard Industrial and Specialty Group. I would love to discuss your goals with you and my colleagues, and I would be proud to show you around Spring Lake any time!