WHS Plastics Receives JLR Award

This month marked very special occasion in both WHS and Jaguar Land Rover’s history. Global Purchasing Director, Ian Harnett and Global STA and Programmes director, Terry Sampson visited WHS to formally present us with the Gold Global Supplier of Excellence award, which is the highest accolade we have ever received, and one of the greatest achievements any JLR supplier can win.

Back in May, Clinton received the award at the JLR Award Winners Dinner at a hotel in the Cotswolds, and again the following day at the Top 150 Global Suppliers Day at Gaydon. However, this event was to present the award to the people at WHS for our outstanding work and performance, most notably during October 2017, when one of JLR’s suppliers had their manufacturing site completely destroyed in a fire.

The potential impact this incident could have had on JLR production was huge, nearly stopping lines across all three UK manufacturing sites and the Graz operation in Austria. Over 100 tools where damaged in the fire at the chrome plating and moulding company, DMS, and thanks to help given by WHS during those worrying weeks in October, not a single line was stopped.

Terry and Ian showed their gratitude and thanks to WHS, expressing how important the Gold Award is to JLR suppliers. They also noted that this was the first time any supplier has received the Gold Customer First Award, which is a huge honour.

Representatives from all departments across the business attended the ceremony. Clinton specifically requested that it be presented to the staff who contributed the most back in October. Mark Cullwick (Manufacturing manager site 1) and Paul Graham (Tooling manager), and Lucy Sarson (project leader) were asked to receive the award on behalf of the company for their support throughout the three week process helping JLR.

Winning this award has raised the profile of WHS Plastics to a fantastic level and will greatly influence our future sales to JLR and secure an even better future for the company and all the staff that work here. But we are only as good as our last delivery, we have to continue to deliver great service, have 100% good quality and delivery , and constantly make improvements in everything we do.

Well done and thank you for all the hard work across the whole company that has created the circumstances for this award from JLR.

Ian and Terry were then given a full factory tour of all three sites by Clinton, who was accompanied by his father Fred Smith. Anyone who worked at WHS before 1994 will remember Fred. He and Clinton built the company from just a small toolroom into a thriving business doing tooling, injection moulding, extrusions and window fabrication. Fred retired in August 1994 when the extrusions and windows business was sold, 24 years ago.

Clinton wrote a thank you to Ian;

“Ian, I would just like to thank Terry and yourself for visiting our plant today. In all my 47 years at WHS we have not had a customer show their appreciation and thanks to our staff in the way that you did today. I can’t tell you how well your comments have been received by everyone, you have certainly left a lasting impression.

Hopefully you were happy with everything you have seen today and thank you for your ongoing confidence in committing the cell carrier business with us, we won’t let you down. Best Regards, Clint.”