Crown Aerosols achieves SQF certification Having reached Level 2, it has Level 3 firmly in its sights... This paper was originally presented at the Midwest Aerosol Association & National Aerosol Association (MAA/NAA) Joint Spring Meeting Crown Aerosols North America, a business unit of Crown Holdings, Inc., announced its achievement certifying to Safe Quality Food (SQF) Level 2 code at all five of its aerosol plants. The plants currently manufacture aerosol containers for personal care and food brands and are located in Faribault, MN; Alsip, IL; Aurora, IL; Warrensburg, IL and Spartanburg, SC. The SQF Management System, recognized by manufacturers and retailers worldwide, is designed to provide organizations with a system to manage food and product safety by controlling a rigorous regimen of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and Standard Operating Procedures. “We are excited about this new certification and the opportunities it brings,” said Douglas McFadden, Director of Quality for Crown Aerosols North America. “Not only does it improve service for our current business but it McFadden prepares us for new customers who require this specific SQF certification level. Ultimately, we are providing peace-of-mind that our plants are adhering to the highest product safety standards.” Crown Aerosols North America began its certification journey in early 2014 and spent the next 24 months going through extensive training modules in preparation for its final audits. By the end of Q4 2015, all five plants achieved placement in the “Excellent” category with an average score of 99%, making them the only aerosol plants in the U.S. with an SQF certification, according to Crown. SPRAY spoke with McFadden about why Crown chose to pursue an SQF certification. “Several of our customers approached us and began to require that we be certified by standard that would require a 3rd party auditor to validate our Quality Management system,” he explained. According to McFadden, most customers want to see some type of certification using a 3rd party auditing scheme; otherwise, they will want to perform their own audit. “We took the time to research and after reviewing various certifications, we chose SQF based on the value we felt it would bring to our plants and the overall acceptance from our customers. We gravitated towards the SQF certification because of the broad scope of standards. Not only did it evaluate the quality systems, but also risk assessment, GMP and other social implications.” To obtain SQF certification, Crown first underwent many changes to current Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)/ process controls, as well as additional implementations to address GMP concerns. Second, it had to focus on extensive training that affected all employees, not just those directly implementing the new standards. Finally, it took capital to bring its facilities up to code for things such as security and various building improvements. “The whole process took two years and required the support from everyone at our plants and within our executive team,” said McFadden. “The first year was used to learn and prepare and the second year was solely focused on implementation in order to prepare for the final audit and ultimately to obtain the certification. With the SQF certification, we are now compliant with customer requirements. Our facilities are now cleaner and work spaces are even more organized. Most importantly, we can now ensure the products we manufacture are consistently safe and reliable.” SQF certification is not only for food customers, as the standards extend through all of Crown’s processes. “I like to call it, ‘Safe Quality Products,’ since the majority of the code requirements are applicable to all product lines,” he emphasized. Crown is now focused on achieving the Level 3 SQF certification. “We are only a few improvements away from achieving this next level,” McFadden concluded. “Our goal is to ensure all of our plants maintain the current certifications in 2016 while making the proper adjustments, so that in 2017, all plants can be Level 3 SQF certified.” Spray 20 Spray April 2016
Spray April 2016
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