Serving the Teesside Business Community | 63
Four years after joining Worldwide
Quality Assurance as an
administration assistant, Becky
Thomas is a lead auditor for the firm.
Quality begins at
home - and travels
Worldwide
By Michael McGeary
W
orldwide Quality Assurance
was launched by Paul
Raymond in 1999 on the
strength of just six weeks
guaranteed work from Marine Terminals
Corporation, which operated ports across
North America.
It was a big risk that reaped rich rewards,
as WQA built up a committed and highly
qualified team in the years that followed,
opening offices and winning customers
throughout the world.
The firm has now established itself as
a leading certification body for standards
including ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001, while
operating throughout the UK, Europe, USA
and Asia.
While initially most customers were in
the transport industry, WQA’s client base
now includes engineering, manufacturing,
air transport and many more sectors.
Its newest customer, Arabian Chemical
Terminals, based in Saudi Arabia, has
extended the reach of the business even
further.
“The company grew very quickly and
customers began transferring their business
to WQA based on reputation alone,” says
senior lead auditor Daniel Raymond,
who joined the firm in May 2000 after
A North-East-based management
systems certification provider that
began as a home-based business with
one customer is celebrating its 20th
anniversary.
completing an apprenticeship as a heavy
vehicle technician.
“The range of services we offered
expanded rapidly, usually driven by demand
from our customers. We now provide
certification, internal auditing, Dangerous
Goods Safety Adviser (DGSA) services
and specialist audits for the Chemical
Distribution Institute.”
Daniel took over the helm at WQA after
Paul sadly passed away in 2012 and has
continued to grow the business while
maintaining the core principles his father
put in place.
He says that employing good people is
key to the success of the business and
this is an area he has continued to invest in
heavily.
“One of the first auditors we employed,
Geoff Raine, is retiring this year having
completed 17 years with us,” says Daniel.
“Becky Thomas joined the business as
an administration assistant in 2015 and four
years later is a lead auditor. She recently
qualified as a dangerous goods safety
adviser, strengthening the knowledge
within our team even further. Like all our
auditors, Becky spends time travelling the
world serving our loyal customers.
“We have an average customer retention
time in excess of 10 years and we’ve never
employed a sales team – our success is
based completely on our reputation for
providing a flexible, first class service.
“Reaching our 20th anniversary is a
fantastic milestone for us and one that
we’re all very proud of.
“We’re grateful to all our customers,
old and new, who have played a part in a
success story that has seen us go from
small beginnings to having a global and an
ever-increasing scope of services.”
There have been several office moves to
accommodate growth since that home-
based start-up and WQA’s head office is
now in Severn House, Mandale Business
Park, Durham, which boasts excellent views
over the historic city.
Further offices are located in Indonesia,
Myanmar, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia,
Kuwait and Oman.
Assessments are carried out against
the Port Marine Safety Code and CDI
assessment schemes and a wide range
of on-site training can also be provided at
customers’ own premises.
For more information about WQA, call
0191 384 0666 or visit worldwideqa.com.