Auto supplier gets large inventory of headrests, with CFS’ help

CFS successfully delivered a program of 450,000 vehicle headrests to a major OEM.

Custom Foam Systems Ltd. (CFS) has an impressive backlog of success stories, reinforcing its status as the leading North American foam manufacturer. One example involved a Tier 1 supplier for a major automobile maker. This supplier wanted to supply 90,000 headrests per year for five years for a popular vehicle. As it always does, the CFS team came through with the perfect solution.

A challenging geometric shape

The auto company’s initial design for the headrests was virtually impossible for CFS to manufacture consistently, due to the geometric shape of the part. So the main challenge was convincing the auto giant to compromise on the design of a highly visible interior component. CFS’ Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) team also had to make quantities of three colours for weekly delivery. Other requirements:

• Meeting a strict level of Class A surface finish and highly cosmetic parting lines, including two through-hole windows;
• Encapsulating a steel wire fabrication for structural support; and
• Creating a customized returnable packaging system that could not be collapsed.

After the auto company approved the design concessions, CFS’ APQP team developed a newly formulated green foam system to meet the project’s unique challenges. These included tight specifications for compression and density to meet crash-test requirements, world-class manufacturing cycle times and efficiency, and meeting specifications for comfort, surface durability, damage and stain resistance, antimicrobial standards, UV resistance, and cosmetic appearance.

CFS delivered the first of the CNC-machined steel moulds within six weeks. Everything was going well until the team found an oversight concerning crash-worthiness. But the team forged ahead with a new manufacturing cell that was ready on time. Through the company’s constant improvement processes and lean production practices, start-up remained under control. CFS’ hourly reporting process of tracking cycles, solving problems, and addressing anomalies kept all issues to a controlled minimum.

In the end, the client received all 450,000 headrests over five years, all manufactured perfectly according to their difficult specs. Not one was ever rejected or returned.

Through its ingenuity, responsiveness, reliability, and stringent processes, CFS satisfied yet another high-profile customer.

For more information, contact CFS.

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