The certification given by Caterpillar has four categories: bronze, silver, gold and platinum. In spite of reaching scores that would entitle it to the silver level, WEG received bronze for being the first certification of the company.

The ceremony was held at the generator plant in Jaraguá do Sul and attended by WEG’s CEO, Harry Schmelzer Jr., and one of the founders of the company, Werner Voigt. When receiving the certificate, Harry Schmelzer Jr. pointed out the importance of the employees for this achievement. “The people truly responsible for the quality of the products are the employees”, he said.

The CEO also said that for next year WEG intends to obtain the gold certification by using programs such as the Continuous Improvement which pursues leaner processes assuring greater quality and productivity. “WEG has a process of excellence and such an accomplishment has the participation of 99% of the employees of the company”, says Flavio Reis, Procurement Director of Caterpillar in Brazil.

The company is Caterpillar’s first supplier of electrical products to receive such certification in Brazil and fourth in the world. “We have been using WEG products since 2003. Besides quality, meeting delivery deadlines is also important. And the company has always delivered the orders on the dates agreed ", says Caterpillar’s General Director of the Power Sector, Carlos Betiol.

WEG supplies Caterpillar with GTA generators which are used as an emergency alternative or as power source in remote areas. The certification opens the door to the supply of other products to Caterpillar all over world. “Our next step is the globalization of the GTA using other platforms of the company like the units in Asia, Europe and North America”, says Harry Schmelzer Junior.

The Certification

Caterpillar demands high quality standards and strict meeting of delivery dates from its suppliers. In the past two years, Caterpillar has been monitoring some indicators such as lead time and faults per million besides auditing WEG’s Quality System and Continuous Improvement Program.

Caterpillar

Caterpillar is a multinational company and has been in Brazil since 1954. Nowadays Caterpillar employs four thousand people in the city of Piracicaba, in the state of São Paulo. It has a line of products composed of 35 models including hydraulic excavators, compactors, wheel loaders, motorgraders, backhoe loaders, crawler dozers as well as tools and special accessories for this equipment. In October 2001, Caterpillar entered the power supply market with the production of generator groups of 50 to 750 kVA.

Link for photos of the certification on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/weg_net/sets/72157624848272122/