Aerospace & Defense Case Study
Composites Horizons Inc.
Composites Horizons has been in business in Covina, CA for over 30 years, providing composite fiberglass structure design and manufacturing components
to the defense industry and commercial clients. Composites Horizons had 66 employees and annual sales of $19.1 million prior to beginning the project.
Composites Horizons’ workforce is approximately 65% Caucasian and 35% Hispanic.
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“CMTC’s assistance allowed our organization to
not only retain sales but add personnel, when
others in our industry are losing market share
and key people.”
Chuck Clinton
Director of Quality Assurance
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Issue/Needs
In an effort to remain competitive in their industry, Composites Horizons
had considered reducing its workforce and limiting its manufacturing
operations or subcontracting their manufacturing to out-of-state
enterprises. Rather than choosing either of these options, Composites
developed a strategy to retain sales in an ever-shrinking market and
maintain their valued employees. They concluded that the development
and successful implementation of an AS 9100 Aerospace Quality
Management System would be the quickest way to accomplish their goals.
Implementation Highlights
Composites Horizons wanted to achieve the sales and employee-retention
benefits associated with becoming AS 9100 registered, but realized that
professional assistance in system setup would greatly improve their chances
of success. They sought the assistance of CMTC in implementing their AS
9100 Quality System to ensure first-attempt registration. CMTC started
the project in August of 2004, involving a core team of process owners.
CMTC and Composites Horizons jointly developed a Project Plan for the
successful implementation of their quality system. The project began by
CMTC facilitating the creation of a Quality Management System
Manual, detailed procedure development and the creation of forms to
support procedures as required. CMTC also provided guidance to department
supervisors to make sure procedures were consistent with current
floor practices and met the requirements of the AS 9100 Standard.
CMTC was also able to assist in guidance on methods of marketing
Composites’ quality certification and thus maintaining their current sales
levels. The project was completed in March 2005 with Composites
Horizons attaining AS 9100 registration on their initial attempt.
Improvement Description
During system setup, process improvements were made to increase the
effectiveness of Composites Horizons’ operations, enabling their employees
to become cross-trained and resulting in improved efficiency with the
same staff size. Additionally, a strategy was implemented to integrate sales
activity with their quality system allowing Composites Horizons to retain
their market share.
Financial and Investment Impact
The sales and marketing benefits of AS 9100 certification enabled
Composites Horizons to retain all of its client base and employees despite
an average loss of sales and associated employment in their markets of
28% during the span of the project. During strategic planning sessions,
Composites Horizons calculated a potential annual revenue loss of
$55,000 if a method of sales retention was not effectively implemented.
As a result of successful sales and employee retention, Composites
Horizons not only retained their sales levels (with a slight increase) and
all 66 positions, but also is in the process of expanding their manufacturing
facility and adding 18 new employees to their payroll.
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