LORD Corp. recently announced that its Bowling Green, Ky., and Cambridge Springs, Pa., facilities have received the Caterpillar Silver Certification as part of the Caterpillar Supplier Quality Excellence Program (SQEP). The certification reportedly recognizes suppliers that are dedicated to providing excellence in many areas of business-to-business relationships and is awarded to only those who demonstrate world-class performance on an ongoing basis. LORD earned the bronze certification in 2013 and earned silver recognition upon recertification in 2014.

SQEP is Caterpillar’s operational excellence initiative that recognizes a supplier’s commitment to meet and sustain high quality standards. SQEP incorporates quality tools and system requirements, including ISO certification, supplier parts per million (PPM), on-time production part approval process (PPAP), statistical process control (SPC) on key characteristics, Six Sigma deployment, supplier capacity, and 96% on-time delivery to production and service. These requirements reportedly ensure that suppliers achieve these high standards and deliver best-in-class performance.