Hemel Hempstead -- FFEI has successfully been awarded the internationally recognised environmental and quality standards, ISO 14001 and ISO 9001:2008. These accreditations acknowledge the company’s ongoing commitment to running an efficient, environmentally friendly operation, and to providing its customers with high quality, market leading design and manufacturing capabilities.
 
FFEI are the integrators and creative expertise behind many of the groundbreaking product solutions in the graphic arts market, servicing the newspaper, commercial and industrial digital print sectors. The company recently relocated to a 66,000sqft HQ and technology centre, in Hemel Hempstead, UK, where the ISO accreditation audits took place at the beginning of June.
 
Andy Cook, Managing Director of FFEI, comments, “The move to FFEI’s new premises not only provided us with access to cutting-edge facilities that better support our rapidly expanding R&D and manufacturing operations, but also presented the chance to further streamline our internal processes and ensure, where possible, an environmentally responsible operation. Consequently, the auditors from BM Trada were able to award FFEI both ISO accreditations, and in the case of ISO 9001, with zero non-compliances first time. We are also very pleased that it only took 6 months, from when we relocated, to comply with the regulations showing that we have been moving in the right direction for some time.”
 
To obtain the ISO 14001 certification, FFEI had to demonstrate compliance with relevant government environmental legislation by undergoing an intensive auditing process, over a 2-week period. In addition to improving the company’s ability to manage its environmental performance, the resulting improvements to FFEI’s manufacturing procedures, such as reduced energy consumption and waste, will also make its operations more cost-effective - in light of the current economic reality, this will have a positive impact for both FFEI and its customers.
 
Andy continues, “This fantastic achievement would not have been possible in such a short period of time without the dedicated and active support from the FFEI staff. Our team has shown real commitment to improving the way we work in an effort to increase customer satisfaction and decrease the company’s impact on the environment. Being ISO accredited is an ongoing commitment, and as such, we are now working towards achieving the tough quality standard of ISO 13485 which is in support of our life-sciences business unit.”