Meet the Koudijs quality team

At the heart of the company

Together, these three experienced professionals enjoy being at the heart of a growing international organisation. "We work with every department as well as suppliers and customers," Celesta continues. "There's always something happening which means lots of communication." For Kyra the best part is the short lines: "You know everybody, particularly plant managers, operators and office colleagues at the premix factory. I love that!"

Collaborative approach

Communication and direct contact are what drives the team's approach to quality assurance. "At a lot of companies, QA acts like a watchdog but we're much more pragmatic and collaborative," says Stijn. Celesta explains: "You can only improve if you start a discussion, so we talk to colleagues, customers, suppliers, producers and factory operators, and work together to find permanent, structural solutions." Customer questions and complaints all come via the sales department and the team deal with these in both active and passive ways. "Passively, sales will report a customer issue to us and together we will investigate the root causes and develop a fix so the problem doesn't happen again," says Stijn. "Actively, we collect data based on complaints and analyses, identify any trends and work with all parties on a permanent solution."

Meeting customer requirements

The three colleagues do not just deal with complaints  and analyses though. "15 years ago, feed safety was the most important topic for customers," says Celesta. "Today, we're getting requests for non-GMO raw materials, new ingredients, plant-based products, organic products, responsibly sourced soy and much more." Koudijs has the flexibility to meet these requirements by talking with the customer and the technical department to determine whether they can produce the product and at which production location. "When new raw materials are requested, we check to see if they comply with our quality standards and whether we can use them in our factories," says Kyra. They also check local regulations, which customers may not be aware of, as well as the local climate. "Not every product works the same way in every country. For example, premixes can be affected by high temperatures," Kyra continues. "It's a fun challenge creating high-quality products that are suitable for a particular country."

Quality processes and traceability

As well as trouble-shooting and responding to customer requests, the department also maintains a quality manual. "We have to standardise our quality processes, but we only document what's necessary," says Celesta. "This includes certifications like GMP+ and the audits we regularly carry out at suppliers of raw materials and other products." Despite these audits, all raw materials coming into Koudijs' factories are rigorously checked. Near infrared spectroscopy (NIR) is used to identify every batch of raw materials delivered and to check quality. Once a raw material is released for use, it is barcoded so that it can be tracked and traced throughout production. "Thanks to this system, we know which batch of a raw material is used in a particular production order and how much," Kyra adds. End products are also tested. These processes guarantee the quality of Koudijs' products.

Global knowledge and experience

Every two years, all quality assurance staff from across the world come together for a meeting in the Netherlands. "We discuss quality issues and stay up to date on the global situation and local issues," say Celesta. "We all know each other so it's easy to stay in contact and draw on one another's knowledge." Stijn expands: "There's a lot knowledge, experience and specialisation in the different countries which allows us to deliver such a high standard of products and service."