B

OTICS USA recently received the Toyota Superior Quality Performance Award, a recognition that the company has received numerous times since it shipped out its first part on April 3, 2003 from its Morristown facility.

The award, that is presented to only a handful of Toyota suppliers – out of hundreds – awarded OTICS USA for its on time deliveries and excellent quality of parts.

“This past year, we were one of two that received this award,” OTICS USA Quality Engineering Manager Stuart Woosley said. “It’s very prestigious in the automotive world.”

OTICS USA has received the Superior Quality Performance Award many times, the first in 2008, then every year from 2010-2015 and then again in 2021 and 2022. The company has received other Toyota awards as well.

The Excellent Quality Award, given to just 30 suppliers per year, was achieved by OTICS USA in 2009 and 2020. The company also receive a Certificate of Achievement in Quality during the years 2004-2007 and 2017-2019.

“The award we are most proud of is the Superior,” Woosley said. “We are very proud of that and our history of winning the award.”

Woosley, who as served as the company’s quality manager for four years, attributes the multiple awards to the employees’ ability to work together.

“It’s a team effort,” he said. “We adhere to the Toyota method of ‘Genchi Genbutsu:’ go and see, which is a derivative of the 8-step problem method. We strive to employ that throughout the facility. Whenever we have an issue, it’s a ‘go and see’ response, an on the shop floor investigation to have an understanding of what is actually occurring instead of hearing someone talk about it.”

Customer service is a key element of the OTICS USA method.

“Whenever we have a customer contact us with an issue with one of our products, even if the problem did not originate with us, we offer excellence in service – even if it’s not our problem, even if our product is not the root cause. That relationship with the customer is key. We strive to attain that,” Woosley said.

OTICS USA was founded in July 2001. Production started in 2003 in the Morristown facility located at 5555 Interstate View Drive in the East Tennessee Progress Center, near Exit 8 of Interstate 81.

There are currently two plant locations. The second is located in Kodak. The combined number of employees at both plants is just under 430.

An interesting fact about the company is that its name is an acronym. O (Odai, a family name), T (technology), I (internationality), C (creativity) and S (satisfaction).

The OTICS way is: “for the customer, employee development, genchi genbutsu (go and see), team effort and Kaizen mindset (continual improvement).

“Our slogan is ‘quality is our lifeline,’ Woosley said. “We really push that with our team members. The train of thought is that ‘no good quality product means the customer won’t want to buy from you again.’

“There’s no better place to work, especially if you’re a new engineer starting,” he added. “The support is awesome here, especially for newcomers to the workforce, or those new to the automotive industry. A lot of companies have an attitude toward their new employees of ‘ it’s sink or swim’ That’s not the mindset here. It’s a total team effort here. We help everyone to level up their performance. That’s the biggest thing that has impressed me over the years. It’s not just someone saying that to get a good candidate to come.”

The teamwork mindset at the company leads to opportunities for fellowship, including the annual summer event, which involves an employee outing. The employees design the event T-shirt as a part of a company-wide competition.

“Our family members participate in that too, which makes it even more awesome,” Woosley said.

There are several corporate outings throughout the year, along with holiday events. The company hosts employee appreciation meals for milestone accomplishments, including those regarding safety.

It all leads back to corporate strategy.

“We all work toward that on a daily basis. The emphasis is on ‘What’s happening on the shop floor? How can we best support to make that effort better?’ There is constant communication with the shop floor,” Woosley said. “There are Start of Shift meetings, where we go over the previous day’s production activities and follow up on where we’re at. We go over what do we need to do to meet goals.”

OTICS USA production goals are: safety is top priority, quality is our lifeline, producing is best, delivery is on time.

For more information about the company, call 423-581-9933 or visit oticsusa.com.