CLEVELAND, OH—November 11, 2019—HK Metalcraft (HKM), Lodi, NJ, has received the 2019 Pridgeon & Clay Excellence in Quality Award as part of the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Awards of Excellence in Metalforming. Established in 1926, the company is a fourth-generation, precision metal stamping company serving many markets, including automotive, aerospace, military, appliance, electrical and more.

HKM is celebrating the 15th anniversary of its quality management bonus program. This company-wide bonus system rewards all employees if HKM successfully ships zero defects (customer returns) during a month. If successful during month one, employees receive a $25 bonus. After two months in a row, employees receive $50. The pattern repeats in subsequent months, with $450 as the total bonus per employee for a perfect year. If a month is missed, the program starts over at $25. 

Originated in 2004 due to HKM’s inability to ship each month without a customer return, the program is designed to make all employees concerned about quality. After implementation, the program took some time for all employees to get on board, but eventually positive results were experienced as HKM began shipping more months without quality returns. 

Management commitment is a key component of the program, with former president Raymond Hopp approving the plan in 2004 and promoting it to employees at its inception. The current HKM president, Josh Hopp, continues to promote the award during their monthly all-employee town hall meetings.

The company decided to implement the bonus program to catch defects as early as possible and ultimately prevent the shipment of rejects to the customer. The bonus is an integral part of HKM’s IATF audit and has received praise from TUV auditors.

The successful program has resulted in HKM receiving numerous customer quality awards. And, as of September 2019, the company had shipped without a customer return since January 2019.

The Quality Award is one of seven Awards of Excellence in Metalforming, presented annually by PMA.  Sponsored by Pridgeon & Clay, Inc., Grand Rapids, MI, the award recognizes outstanding achievement by a manufacturing company in the development and implementation of a company-wide quality system that effectively uses continuous improvement. 

PMA is the full-service trade association representing the $137-billion metalforming industry of North America—the industry that creates precision metal products using stamping, fabricating, spinning, slide forming and roll forming technologies, and other value-added processes. Its nearly 800 member companies also include suppliers of equipment, materials and services to the industry. PMA leads innovative member companies toward superior competitiveness and profitability through advocacy, networking, statistics, the PMA Educational Foundation, FABTECH and METALFORM Mexico tradeshows, and MetalForming and 3D Metal Printing magazines.

Editor’s Note:  Information on PMA’s Awards of Excellence in Metalforming is available at www.pma.org/awards.