Rewarding Consistent Quality Excellence

Mars Chocolate presented top performer in corrugated to DS Smith Fulda, and perfect conformance to DS Smith Margarethen and Kutno, at its annual awards dinner.

Quality is the first of the five principles that have made Mars the success it is today. After all, it is the foundation for consumer trust, and this is what creates the immense brand loyalty Mars enjoys. So, when Mars commends a supplier for the consistent quality of its product, it really means something – as the DS Smith packaging plants across Europe found out at Mars Chocolate’s recent ‘Quality Focus Initiative 2014 Awards Dinner'.

A constant focus on quality

To ensure its products meet loyal consumers’ high expectations, Mars procures only the best ingredients and the highest quality packaging. Home of chocolate classics like Mars, Snickers, M&M's and Maltesers, Mars Chocolate is no exception; it employs only the highest standards of quality control. In 2006, they launched the Quality Focus Initiative (QFI) to reward high performing suppliers.

This year, they rewarded DS Smith for the consistent high quality of their packaging with three prizes in the corrugated category:

DS Smith Fulda won Site of Quality Excellence for achieving an outstanding non-conformance % for supply to Mars Chocolate sites.
DS Smith Kutno in Poland (for a third consecutive year) and Margarethen in Austria received Perfect Performance awards.
The Corrugated Site of Quality Excellence award recognises overall quality excellence amongst high volume sites with complexity of supply. The Perfect Performance awards recognise 0% non-conformance.

Best in corrugated six years running

When Mars Chocolate announced that DS Smith had won three quality excellence awards at its recent ‘Quality Focus Initiative 2014 Awards Dinner', Frank McCusker, the DS Smith Strategic Account Director for Mars, was delighted. “This is the sixth year running that a DS Smith site has won the top award in the corrugated category. I’m very pleased that the hard work of our dedicated operators has once again been recognised by Mars Chocolate.”

Mars Commercial Director Corinne Powell and Strategic Sourcing Manager Ashley Walton presented the awards. Stefano Rossi, Divisional CEO for DS Smith and Frank McCusker collected the three awards in front of a crowded room. The next day, Stefano Rossi handed over the Mars Chocolate Corrugated Site of Quality Excellence award to Per Vinge Frederiksen, Managing Director of DS Smith Germany and Switzerland Region.

A great honour and motivation

“I’m very proud that Mars Chocolate has awarded DS Smith Fulda as Corrugated Site of Quality Excellence,” said Steffen Hossfeld, General Manager at DS Smith Fulda, when he learned of the award. “The award is a great honour and motivation for the whole team at Fulda. It recognises not only our ability to consistently deliver quality packaging, but also the efficiency and sustainability of our processes.”

Steffen Hossfeld formally presented the Mars Chocolate Corrugated Site of Quality Excellence award to the nearly 300 members of staff at DS Smith Fulda. “I would like to thank all employees involved for their commitment, hard work, and engagement,” he said as he shared some gifts with them during a short ceremony.

“Quality excellence awards such as these not only recognise our commitment to quality across all our packaging plants, they encourage us to raise the bar even further,” said Frank McCusker. “They help us improve our performance across the board, giving all our customers confidence that we continually drive to deliver products that are of the highest standards.”

Source: DS Smith