An award-winning company that makes the "best horseboxes in Europe" has been given another seal of approval.

IWT Deeside, on Deeside Industrial Estate, has just gained the prestigious ISO 9001:2008 accreditation for quality from the British Standards Institute.

The news comes hot on the heels of a survey conducted by a German magazine for horse lovers that concluded that the horsebox from Ifor Williams Trailers was better than any of its European rivals.

The new horsebox was launched last year to coincide with the company’s 50th anniversary.

They applied the standards of top car manufacturers in building the horsebox with sleek, flowing lines.

The company’s design engineers even used the same test track as Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson to put it through its paces.

According to the judges from Cavallo magazine, the HB506 was the most comfortable, horse-friendly horsebox among the seven models they tested.

The ISO 9001:2008 is the recognized UK stamp of approval in terms of quality assurance.

IWT Deeside was established six year ago. It is part of the Ifor Williams Trailers group and the parent company, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, already had ISO accreditation.

Paul Watkins, the Business Operations Manager at IWT Deeside, is "absolutely thrilled and proud" that they too have earned the praise of the auditors from the BSI.

Mr Watkins said: "It’s about every aspect of your business and the way that you run it. The audit looks at everything from the way you run your production line to sales, purchasing and design.

"They are looking to make sure you have detailed and structured procedures and policies for managing the business effectively.

"When they conduct the audit they are looking for the evidence to prove that you are doing everything properly. They put you under a very detailed microscope.

"They will talk to the staff in most of the areas, individual operators on the shop floor. I was very impressed with the operators responses and how they explained things to the auditor.

"I was delighted that the auditors agreed that we are doing all the right things here and they gave us some very complimentary feedback about the way which we do things.

"It was a very proud moment because attaining ISO accreditation is very prestigious, especially since we succeeded first time.

"It comes hot on the heels of the survey in the German magazine saying that, compared to our leading competitors, we are the best in Europe.

"This recognition makes you feel that all our hard work and our continuing drive to build a top quality product is really worthwhile.

"Not only are our processes right but our end product is also right which is vital because our aim at all times is to ensure customer satisfaction.

"It shows that we’re heading in the right direction and we’re making a good quality product but this is no time to rest on our laurels.

"I am determined that we will continue to improve what we do because we are in a competitive market and you cannot afford to stand still."

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News » New accolade for Europe’s top horsebox maker