Better quality from the Far East

After launching its price offensive in the run-up to DIY’TEC, since the beginning of May the Kirkel-based company has gradually made available a new range of around 230 hand tools and related products under its own “budget” label. All articles – and they are without exception offered in the starter price bracket – come with a ten-year guarantee. Tools for which there are existing DIN or EN standards were also subjected to the appropriate independent test procedures.
With its own “budget” label Praktiker is aiming for substantial, qualitative growth whilst maintaining the pricing level. “This can only be achieved by means of investing in quality improvement,” is how Marc Effertz, division manager for import coordination technology at Praktiker AG, explains the basic premise.
Praktiker is setting up direct commercial links with manufacturers in the Far East in order to achieve this. Formerly the selections for the different price bra-ckets were bought from samples supplied by the importer. Often the only constant here was the packaging, whereas the contents were variable in both origin and quality. Then about two years ago Praktiker began to exert a direct influence on the process of producing imported hand tools in the interest of quality. Intensive on-the-spot screening of more than 200 firms was undertaken at the start of the operation.
A selection from the special-offer products.
Erka-Consulting has responsibility for the definition and maintenance of the quality criteria where the products are concerned. This company has a presence in the Far East, where on behalf of Praktiker it exercises a direct influence on the manufacturers’ choice of materials and production processes, and on the checkability of the previously agreed technical requirements. The production processes and product quality should as a result show steady improvement.
The ten-year guarantee on “budget” hand tools is not meant only as a marketing message: it is also designed as a means whereby the customer can help to further improve the quality of the products. “We will keep systematic records of any products that are replaced because of possible defects and analyse them for weak points. This will allow us to collect information that we can now direct towards improving the production process, since we know our manufacturers in the Far East and especially their production almost better than they do themselves,” is how Effertz describes the company’s approach. And he is certain that “Praktiker…