Greater Statesville Development Corporation

-- On Wednesday, May 20th, Southern Prestige Industries celebrated its 30th year in business with a "steak and potato" cookout for its employees. Also celebrated was the award of AS-9100 certification, making SPI one of only 45 manufacturers in North Carolina to achieve this quality standard for the aerospace industry.

 

In addition to SPI employees and management, the event was attended by representatives of the NC State extension service and GSDC Director of BRE & Marketing John Marek.

 

The NC State professionals worked with Southern Prestige to help them achieve AS9100 certification - a global seal of approval for quality management systems. The university provided pre-assessment training and certification preparation.

 

"Growth is the reason for this certification," said President James Wilson. "AS9100 opens up doors for us that we haven't explored before. Our quality is superior and our systems are in place. Now we can back it up. My goal is that after I retire, you will all still be here."

 

Aerospace makes up 65 percent of the company's business. The AS9100 standard was created specifically for the aerospace industry and incorporates all the requirements of the ISO 9001:2000 quality management standard. It includes aerospace-specific requirements such as safety and reliability components.

 

With the expected increase in aerospace business, Wilson hopes to grow his staff to 100 employees within two years. "This certification will help us do what we need to grow," he said. Bracing for this growth, Wilson recently bought the building behind the current facility.

 

Southern Prestige Industries was also the Greater Statesville Chamber of Commerce Industry of the Year.