PAPUREX has been certified to the ISO 9001 standard since 1996, a span of nearly 30 years. This certified quality management system marked an early milestone in PAPUREX’s history. The fact that the company’s QM system continues to meet this standard is demonstrated by the successfully completed surveillance audit from March 2026. The following article provides an overview of the background behind establishing and maintaining a certified quality management system.
What is the ISO 9001 standard?
ISO 9001 is the world’s best-known standard for quality management (QM). Simply put: It is a set of rules that helps companies ensure their products or services maintain a consistently high quality and that customers are satisfied. Compliance with the standard and the issuance of the certificate are carried out by independent certifiers. In the case of PAPUREX, this is TÜV Rheinland.
The core objective of the standard is to ensure that the processes involved in creating a product or service function reliably. This minimizes errors through structured improvement, which in turn has a positive effect on the quality of the final product. ISO 9001 is therefore not about the perfection of a product, but about the quality assurance of the processes behind it. The most important principles can be summarized as follows:
- Customer focus: What does the customer really want?
- Process approach: All processes within the company are viewed as an interconnected system.
- Continuous improvement: Opportunities to improve the status quo are always sought.
Surveillance audits vs. recertification audits
A company does not receive ISO 9001 certification for an unlimited period. The certificate is typically issued for three years. After three years, a reassessment is conducted to determine whether the company still meets the certification requirements. This reassessment takes place as part of what is known as a “recertification audit.” As an analogy, you can think of this as a “major inspection” in which all areas of the company are scrutinized in detail.
At PAPUREX, however, a surveillance audit was scheduled for March 2026. Over the course of the three-year certification period, a company must additionally demonstrate annually that its processes still comply with the standard. Although surveillance audits occur more frequently, they are less extensive. You can think of them as an “annual check-up” to complement the “major inspection.”
The added value of ISO 9001 for PAPUREX’s customers
ISO 9001 certification is not just a nice title or a competitive advantage for the certified company. The added value lies primarily with the customers of the certified company. With a certified company, customers can be certain that certain professional structures and processes have been established. This provides clarity when deciding whether or not to establish a business relationship with a company. Furthermore, standardized procedures—such as those for handling complaints—can be relied upon in the course of collaboration. Last but not least, a customer of a certified company can expect a high standard of quality in products and services thanks to the continuous monitoring of processes. A PAPUREX customer can therefore be confident that their pneumatic tubing is of high quality and that all associated processes meet high standards. Click the button below this text to view PAPUREX’s current ISO 9001 certificate!