In the age of Industry 4.0 and advanced quality control systems, Longveld has become the first New Zealand stainless steel fabricator certified by HERA Cert.
This process has seen them meet the requirements of the International Institute of Welding Manufacturer Certification Scheme IIW ISO AS/NZS 3834 Part 2 – Comprehensive.
A drive to expand and refine capability
Longveld was founded by Pam and Les Roa in 1992 with little more than a toolbox, a welder and some great trade skills, to provide stainless steel site installation services to the dairy sector in Australasia.
Managing Director Pam Roa saying: “We led a number of site-based teams carrying out projects in New Zealand, Singapore and Indonesia, and by the end of the 90’s our customers were asking us to apply our high level of quality, and attention to detail, to the fabrication of stainless steel primary processing equipment.”
Since opening their fabrication facility at the current site in Hamilton in April 1999, they’ve continued to expand and refine their capability, particularly in their project engineering and design team.
“The integrity of the supply chain that delivers food from pasture to plate is a key driver for us and our purpose is to help our customers deliver global food safety through the quality of our engineering work.”
“The values of courage, humility and wholeheartedness remain at the core of our culture and we are very proud of our ability to form intimate yet professional relationships with our customers, suppliers, team and community. The quality of our products and satisfaction of our customers is our priority,” she said.
Longveld’s Production Support Manager Gavin Fuszard was tasked with reviewing and identifying a quality management system that suited their products. This was a complex task as Longveld’s fabrication is extremely versatile.
Gavin says: “Our works covers stainless steel fabrication and engineering of components for food-grade primary processing and handling systems, throughout the supply chain from the food source to the processing plant.”
“In our fabrication, we use a range of national and international fabrication codes and standards. We required a system capable of dealing with these complexities at the expert level.”
Supporting members with technical advice, training and certification
HERA Cert has expertise in supporting member companies achieve certification and is authorised by the International Institute of Welding (IIW).
Longveld’s certification started with discussions on options available, which led to a focus on IIW ISO 3834.2 certification. This is a scheme designed for fabricators and is a very technical and practical one.
HERA Cert Manager Dr Michail Karpenko saying: “We have more than 45 fabricators currently certified to IIW ISO 3834.2 in New Zealand – however, most of them are structural steel fabricators.”
“Although Longveld is the first primarily stainless-steel fabrication company to go for this certification level, HERA Cert was up to the task as we employ a range of qualified technical experts and auditors,” he said.
The assessment process included a review of procedures and inspection documents, professional interviews with the team, site inspections and other steps required by the scheme.
HERA Cert Senior Auditor Volkan Yakut said: “Longveld manufactures products including pressure vessels from specialty metals and carries out projects designed to AS, AS-NZS, BSEN, API and ASME standards. They have a range of welding processes and procedures to cover these standards.”
The Longveld team is qualified and experienced under these procedures for both workshop and on-site projects. They showed a high level of commitment and dedication in the process to achieving this prestigious certification,” he said.
Are you interested in gaining certification?
HERA Cert would like to congratulate Longveld on this great achievement and thank them for sharing their learnings with other stainless steel fabricators and members of the NZ Stainless Steel Development Association (NZSSDA).
We’re also hopeful to extend this scheme to include others in the future.
If you’d like to know more on how HERA Cert can help your business, please get in touch with HERA Cert Manager Michail Karpenko.