APiC UK in Smethwick, Sandwwll is keeping up with best business practice – and has been awarded with two new accreditations to prove it.

APiC UK, which designs, manufactures and installs aluminium curtain walling, doors and screens, roof glazing and structural glazing systems, is one of Sandwell’s best-known specialist manufacturers. Working in the education, retail, industrial and commercial sectors, and employing over 70 people, the family-owned firm takes on projects as small as individual shopfronts, through to complex multi-million pound contracts.

APiC UK has a great reputation in Sandwell and nationwide, but the directors know the importance of constantly keeping their accreditations fresh and their knowledge up to date.

As a reward for their hard work, the company has recently been awarded EN ISO 9001:2008, showing it has a formal management statement (linked to business plans and customer requirements), which all employees understand and follow.

ISO 9001: 2008 covers many areas of a company’s activities, including record-taking and performance reviews. It also means taking a positive approach to communicating with customers and taking care of their needs.

Andrew Stapleton, who is Sales & Estimating Director at APiC (regularly attending our FinditinSandwell Breakfast Clubs and exhibiting at our events), said: “We’re not a company to rest on our laurels. If there is a way to officially validate all the best-practice systems we have put in place, then we will seize that opportunity. We hope this new accreditation will show our existing and potential clients that we are serious about not just meeting their needs but exceeding their expectations”.

Steve Massey of finditinsandwell congratulated Andrew and his team on the quality mark and said: “Business skills development is becoming more and more of a priority for businesses in the region who aspire to work for the public sector. And if you want to work for blue-chip private-sector clients such as Rolls-Royce, Jaguar Land Rover and Carillion, it’s important and often a prerequisite to have an ISO Management and Environmental accreditation”.

Another valuable new certificate on APiC’s wall is a ‘Secured by Design’ licence from the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO). This means APiC’s products are acknowledged to be of high quality in terms of security and in helping to prevent crime.

APiC is entitled to use the Secured by Design logo on its literature and the term ‘Police Preferred Specification’ on products that have passed stringent tests.

Andrew said: “The design of your windows, doors and screens is extremely important when it comes to securing your property. We’re delighted to have police endorsement of our products and will continue to invest in new research and development for security as well as aesthetics”.

APiC has also taken part in finditinsandwell’s very own Skills Development Recognition (SDR) training, with Andrew saying at the time that it was a “well prepared and interesting training programme” and “very well delivered”. (You can read many more positive testimonials from course attendees here.

The Black Country LEP (Local Enterprise Partnership) is committed to helping the region’s businesses get better at tendering and finditinsandwell’s SDR training supports that goal – here’s how.

Do you have some good news to share with Sandwell? Email stephen_massey@sandwell.gov.uk and tell us about your successes.

[Pictured left to right: John Garrett, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council’s Corporate Director for Place (Interim), presents Andrew Stapleton with the EN ISO 9001:2008 certificate.]