Most, if not all manufacturers, will tell you their top priority is to improve quality. Customers in our business demand quality products, and, in turn, OEMs require quality performance throughout their supply chains. Tolerance for delivering anything but a quality product is low because the risk to the company’s reputation is too significant.

How quality has evolved in US manufacturing
Quality management is traditionally considered a function of the Q&A department. In essence, almost always thought to be a part of production or post-production processes that have shared budgets, this means most of the budget goes to better machines.

There is a perception that only one team/department plays a role in the quality of manufactured products, but the reality is that quality should be a part of *every* team and department - every step of the way.

Even in the larger picture, quality tends to be important in all industries for all products you use every day. It’s important that your burger tastes the same, no matter which McDonald’s that you visit. It’s important that your TV screen on your flight works flawlessly to keep you preoccupied for 5+ hour flights. It’s important that your pricey computer continues to function correctly, even a year or two later.

The reason we hold quality in such esteem here at CVC is a result of knowing our products operate in the most critical industries that create essential products used daily throughout the world (yes, that includes toilet paper).

For example, the use of our products in the refining industry - CVC’s Kates Valve provides an exact amount of high-pressure Hydrogen (H2) that converts crude oil into jet fuel, diesel, gasoline, and liquid propane gas. The smallest Hydrogen leak or increase in the amount output would result in an explosion and potentially the loss of lives. Due to our incredible dedication to quality, we thankfully have never had this outcome happen. 

Another prime example: Our valves are the heart of the electrolytic oxygen generators that provide oxygen to submarines for the US Navy. Quality is essential to keep those subs functioning and sailors breathing. Our quality control efforts are in our designs, manufacturing, and testing - every single step a quality analysis. That includes redundancies in our models, specific checks and balances in the manufacturing process, as well as multiple quality inspection points in testing and more. 

In a 2016 survey by the ASQ (the most recent conducted) & resulting Global State of Quality Research report, which provides an analysis of nearly 1,700 companies, showed that customers are vital in driving quality process changes 60% up from 26% in 3 years. We can only imagine since 2016, that number has gone up given the shift to customer influenced communications across all industries via social media and the internet in general.

More recently, organizations talking about product quality, brand trust, and product recalls have published interesting research, demonstrating why quality matters, especially in manufacturing.

Why quality matters

Trust is key

According to Edelman Trust Barometer in 2018, 65% of respondents believe that consistent product quality is the leading factor needed to gain buyer trust. If manufacturers can’t build customer trust, they will lose potential sales because that trust is lacking with prospective buyers.

Gaining the confidence and loyalty of B2B customers is laborious. Once we’ve done that, we work hard to make sure they understand and appreciate what we have to offer in terms of quality so we can grow our business and our team at CVC to serve their needs better.

For over 25 years, we have supplied our Kates Flow Rate controllers to an international manufacturer of high-performance plastic, JSP. JSP is still using the same valves we sold them 25 years ago. Given the length of time they’ve worked with our company and the demonstration of that quality over time, they came to understand our reliability and to trust our product to meet their needs. 

When we started to design products for custom applications, JSP contacted us immediately with a custom design need. One of their critical service valves was experiencing a short wear life. Their experience with our company, coupled with a long lead time for spare parts, motivated them to have us take a look at the application. Within a short period, we redesigned a valve for use during that critical service. Today, we see an extended life, including short part kits lead time. The quality in our legacy product gave JSP the confidence that we could handle their toughest of problems.

Creating these connections and building long term trust is something we’re working on internally both with our team communicating with clients 1:1 and potential clients through our new communications strategies.

Client trust and the quality of our products grow our business via word of mouth

With 92% of customers online reading reviews of companies, according to UL, every company has a reputation online to uphold. Making quality products makes for positive reviews and experiences which spread via word of mouth marketing to other businesses. 

We know as a business, we have suppliers who deliver quality every time, and we make every effort to spread the word about those companies so they are successful and can, in turn, continue to serve us so we can better serve our clients.

In one of our primary industries - oil and gas - customers and contacts are long term employees, people we need to build excellent relationships with to see continued business. One of our best salesmen is the longevity of our products being recognized for their quality year over year with established purchasers and engineers. Those engineers who do leave one oil company for another commonly implement the use of our products when they make the transition. 

Engineers who bring our products along with them are often recognized in their organizations because they have brought something so valuable to the table. With so many companies merging nowadays and sharing knowledge across their sister companies, we have seen natural attrition of sales that can be further attributed to this. Word of mouth transactions are often a direct attribution to the quality of our valves. Our business thrives because of this word of mouth and commitment to excellence for every industry.

Trust matters. Quality matters. Time and time again.

Fewer complaints and more satisfied customers

Studies have proved again and again that high-quality brands will obtain more repeat purchases. At CVC, we spend more time and money upfront in R&D and quality control - perfecting a product before shipping to our customers. This commitment to quality is not only an effort to minimize customer dissatisfaction but also our #1 goal every day. It’s just a part of how we do business.

Not to be brash, but it’s part of why we’re so successful. In essence, companies with high-quality products spend more on communications and quality to persuade customers to invest their time and effort into buying and integrating our products. We want to ensure when the time and effort and trust they spend in us is worth that investment and return. 

The more successful we are in meeting our customer’s needs during their initial experience with our products, the more likely they’ll be to come to us when they need a new product or solution for other challenges. The terms and conditions on each quote we send back this up. We will refund 100% within one year if any of our products have a manufacturing quality defect. Keep in mind, with my five-year tenure at the company, I have never seen this take place.

How quality is defined & how CVC is committed to quality

It’s important to consider how B2B customers define quality. Two things we have to consider when considering how to identify quality are: customers can’t always determine quality for themselves in a way that relates to an actionable change and the priority for what is a quality product changes over time. 

“They don’t make them like they used to” is often heard when the quality of a product isn’t up to standards, but how we change that into something that’s actionable and we can improve upon is difficult. 

At CVC, we focus our efforts on quality in the R&D/Custom design phases - meeting our standards before testing with clients and implementing client feedback where we can to achieve their goals for a custom-developed product and every product that we manufacture.

Over the last 75 years, what’s mattered to our clients has changed with new technology improvements and new product developments we’ve made. Our commitment has remained the same, and our motto is our commitment: the race to quality has no finish line. 

Our team stands behind this 100% every day.