Reliability Guaranteed for 20 Years – A Sioux Company Tradition

About

Since 1939, Sioux Corporation has been designing and manufacturing application-specific industrial-quality cleaning equipment, water heating, cooling systems, solution heaters, and steam generators. Sioux Corporation has a proud tradition of design innovation and quality manufacturing including a 20-year guarantee. Their products ship around the globe and can perform in some of the harshest environments in the world. The 48-person company is located in Beresford, South Dakota.

Challenge

What does a company with a 75-year tradition of quality and a 20-year reliability guarantee do to drive to the next level of quality management? Enter ISO 9001:2008. South Dakota Manufacturing & Technology Solutions (MTS), a NIST MEP affiliate, assisted the senior management team with their multi-year strategic plan, which included obtaining their ISO registration.

Solution

MTS helped Sioux Corporation develop a quality management system, train staff, and obtain their ISO 9001:2008 registration. MTS identified a multi-step implementation approach that drove urgency and balanced Sioux Corporation's needs to manage the ongoing day to day business to support its global customer base. Working with the management team and an internal company auditor, Sioux Corp implemented internal improvements and processes. If a problem arises, the company now logs the issue, meets with the correct parties, determines the root cause, and resolves the problem. The procedures created add discipline and assists in training new employees. A customer-concern log ensures Sioux Corporation solves the problems identified by their customers too. The quality system is a clear, practical, organized system that is highly beneficial to Sioux Corporation and resulted in successful ISO registration.

Results

• Set the stage for future business growth of 20%
• Increased exports worldwide