Lankhorst-Euronete Celebrates 25 Year Quality Management Milestone

Royal Lankhorst-Euronete Group BV is celebrating 25 years at the forefront of Quality Management in the rope and yarn industry following a recent 10-day ISO9001:2015 audit of the company’s sites in the Netherlands and Portugal. As a supplier of industry leading maritime and offshore ropes and netting, quality has been critical to the company’s success in raising manufacturing and product performance standards.

Lankhorst Ropes first achieved ISO9001 in the Netherlands in 1995 and has systematically rolled out the Quality Management Standard across seven European sites covering research, development, production and supply of natural and synthetic yarns, ropes, netting and fabric, supply of steel wire, combination ropes and hardware, testing and product certification. Briefly, the ISO9001 quality management standards provide guidance and tools for companies and organizations who want to ensure that their products and services consistently meet customer’s requirements, and that quality is consistently improved.

“The adoption of the ISO9001 quality management system was a strategic decision by Royal Lankhorst-Euronete Group with the intention of improving our overall performance and providing a sound basis for sustainable business and product development initiatives,” says Anabela Carrapatoso, head of quality systems at Royal Lankhorst-Euronete Group in Portugal.

As Lankhorst has raised product performance, and introduced new products, so advances in quality systems have proven to be an essential tool in building customer confidence. Anabela Carrapatoso again, “With the advent of ISO9001reinforced by ISO 9004 (Managing for sustained success), quality management moved up a gear following the introduction of the concept of process management instead of just inspection of the final product, while the expectation of continual process improvement and tracking customer satisfaction was made explicit.”

The ISO 9001:2015 management system standard goes further in focussing on product reliability and performance by combining the process approach with risk-based thinking and employing the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle at all levels in the organisation. Two types of auditing are required to comply with the quality standard: auditing by an external certification body and audits by internal Lankhorst staff trained in quality management systems. Communication is essential when managing quality across multiple sites. Every month the quality teams convene to review and assessment quality systems performance, identify how it can be improved, and correct or prevent identified problems.

Lloyd’s Register Netherland conducted the 10-day audit and congratulated Royal Lankhorst-Euronete Group BV on achieving 25 years ISO 9001. “25 years is a significant milestone especially given the breadth and diversity of the Royal Lankhorst-Euronete Group’s product range,” says Harry Hoogenberg, Senior Lead Assessor, Lloyd’s Register. “Their systematic approach to managing quality is a great example of what can be achieved when a company is committed to serving the best interests of its customers.”

Quality now underpins every aspect of the Royal Lankhorst-Euronete Group’s businesses. Anabela Carrapatoso thanks her colleagues for their support. “We are delighted to have achieved 25 years ISO9001 Quality Management. It has fundamentally shaped our business and will play an increasing role as we raise rope performance levels and develop more specialised products.”