ISO 9002

Mi Tech - North Charleston, SC
ISO 9002/Quality Programs

THE OVERVIEW
MI-TECH, Inc., a North Charleston-based minority-owned manufacturer that repairs industrial and marine machinery, felt the time had come for it to become ISO 9002 compliant in order to maintain and grow its client base. MI-TECH was founded in 1985 to service large power generation equipment and today employs 46 people.

THE CHALLENGE
MI-TECH had a very limited budget for preparing and meeting all ISO 9002 requirements in order to gain certification for its ISO 9002 quality assurance program. With every passing day, the company was competing and losing contracts to much larger manufacturers that were already ISO certified.

THE SOLUTION
Bill Totten, MI-TECH president, contacted Trident Technical College for advice on pursuing ISO 9002. Trident referred him to the SCMEP, whom he later contracted with to walk MI-TECH through the conformance process. Working under a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce/Minority Business Development Agency, SCMEP was able to help MI-TECH reach its goal of ISO 9002 registration in a short period of time.

THE IMPACT
By using SCMEP, MI-TECH was able to save $50,000 on the entire registration process. Standard market value for ISO certification is about $30,000; MI-TECH paid only about $6,000. MI-TECH saved additional funds through:

• Using SCMEP to point them in the right direction of the most cost-effective registrars;
• Institution of better controls, resulting in a reduction-in-inventory of $20,000; and
• SCMEP negotiated on MI-TECH's behalf to secure private vendors' services at reduced costs.

ISO 9002 Milestone

In 2001, MI-TECH became the first minority manufacturer in South Carolina to become ISO 9002 certified. "Working with SCMEP, we have been able to increase sales by $350,000 post-certification," said Totten.

After becoming ISO 9002 certified, MI-TECH was able to land contracts with companies it had been trying to work with for some time. And Totten believes the certification will help him acquire other customers as well.

MI-TECH's 10,000-square-foot machine shop is open 24 hours a day and specializes in producing turbines, pumps, rotating and reciprocating equipment, and reduction gears for customers throughout the world,
including Westvaco, Amoco, Antigua Power, and the Egyptian Government.