The Company
Davis-Frost, Inc. is a Lynchburg company with 78 employees that until recently was known as James T. Davis Paint Company, Inc. A merger took place in 1995 with Frost Paints, a Minneapolis-based paint manufacturer. The merger has created a leading manufacturer of industrial and architectural coatings. Davis-Frost maintains a retail store in the same building that manufactures paint and products for consumers. They also sell home improvement supplies such as wallpaper and sundry other interior supplies.

The Situation
Davis-Frost was struggling to produce $1 million in sales per month. Employees were working overtime and in two shifts to accomplish it. Davis-Frost wanted the company to increase production, produce consistent, high quality paint and consumer products, continually improve the standard of quality, and receive the benefits of increased recognition from customers and vendors, which they believed would lead to more business.

The Response
Davis-Frost's president Cal Henning attended a VPMEP ISO 9000 seminar and subsequently contracted with VPMEP to conduct an ISO 9001 quality management system project. VPMEP Project Manager Russell Thurston presented an overview of ISO 9001 to Davis-Frost management and conducted company-wide awareness training. Thurston then performed a gap analysis audit to determine the magnitude of the implementation effort. Based on the gap analysis audit, Thurston and the Davis-Frost quality team designed and implemented an ISO 9001 quality management system. Thurston conducted a pre-assessment audit and determined that Davis-Frost was ready for certification. An ISO 9000 registrar assessed the system and Davis-Frost became certified on the first visit, a rare feat.

The Results
Davis-Frost is already experiencing improved productivity in its manufacturing operations, product consistency, scheduling and planning, and communications within the company. During the last month of the certification process, Davis-Frost produced over $1,200,000 in sales, an increase of $200,000. Davis-Frost plans to take full advantage of the marketing opportunities that ISO 9000 certification presents and looks forward to further sales increases as a result of its new quality management system. Henning believes that the ISO 9001 certification is the foundation upon which Davis-Frost will continue to grow by finding ever more effective ways to meet their customers' needs.

Management's Comment
"Russell Thurston did a super job of keeping people focused throughout the project," said Henning. "He spent enough time with us to determine what we were capable of, then developed the schedule and planned the work. Russell took us through the process a step at a time so that our goal didn't seem insurmountable. I was very impressed with how well he pulled our management team together working toward a single goal. It was not our initial objective, but it was a distinct benefit. Working with VPMEP on this project was a rewarding experience."

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