Manufacturing Month: Building Quality Into Every Box

For Tess Mendoza, Quality Manager at Atlantic Packaging Products’ Brampton Corrugated Plant, quality starts with a simple commitment: meeting customer expectations every time. Through a proactive approach to manufacturing, Tess and her team work to ensure quality is built into every stage of production.

In manufacturing, quality is about more than inspecting a finished product. It begins with the processes, decisions and standards that guide production every day. “To me, Quality in manufacturing means consistently delivering defect-free products that meet specifications and exceeds customer expectations,” Tess explains. For Tess, this means moving beyond identifying defects after they occur. At Atlantic’s Brampton Corrugated Plant, the focus is on preventing issues before they reach the customer.

“Quality is built into our processes from day one. We have shifted focus from reactive inspections to proactive prevention at every stage of operations. Our core standard is simple: Pass No Defect! and Stop and Fix!”

Understanding Quality Through the Customer’s Eyes

Meeting specifications is essential, but Tess believes the customer experience is what truly demonstrates the value of quality.

“While operational KPIs and compliance are important baseline standards, true Quality is a live experience. It centers on value and how effective a product or service is.”

This customer-first perspective shapes how the Quality team approaches its work. Feedback helps the team understand how packaging performs in real-world conditions and where manufacturing processes can improve.

“Customer feedback reveals real-world product performance, highlighting process flaws, and guiding data-driven adjustments on the production line,” Tess says.

When a customer reports an issue, the team can use that information to identify defects earlier and update inspection checklists where needed. It is an opportunity to learn from the experience and strengthen the process.

Tess shares an example involving a customer who experienced red ink transferring from the exterior of a newly designed box during handling. Reports came in from across Canada, making it important to find a solution that would address the issue.

“Quality with the help of operations, CI, and ink supplier, we produced successful trials and improved products that our customer approved. Exceptional customer experience, always.”

The collaboration helped resolve the concern and deliver a product the customer approved. It also demonstrated how customer feedback can lead to meaningful improvements on the production floor.

As Tess explains, “Quality is the foundation of customer trust because it delivers a reliable promise: customers know that your product or service will work as expected every single time.”

Quality Is a Team Effort

Quality does not belong to one department alone. It depends on employees across the plant understanding their roles and taking responsibility for the work they do.

Tess emphasizes the importance of having clear processes and open communication so employees can identify concerns and address them before they affect the customer.

“By combining clear processes, shared communication, and proactive Quality Assurance practices,” she explains, “some strategies include Root Cause Analysis and structured problem solving, clear role and ownership, trainings, and communication and documentation tools like Quality Work Group meetings, ‘Purple Tag’ and Quality Alerts.”

These practices help the team investigate issues and understand their root causes. The goal is not simply to correct a problem, but to prevent it from happening again.

For Tess, employees on the manufacturing floor are central to that commitment.

“Our people are our family! We work as a team!”

She sees employees as the frontline force behind quality consistency and continuous improvement. Their knowledge of the production process helps them recognize when something is not right and take action.

Her message to the team reflects the responsibility they carry every day:

“Thank you for holding the line on Quality. Your dedication to keeping variations low and standards high is the reason our customers trust us. Every single day, the reputation of our company is built by what you do right here on this floor. You are the final, most critical line of defense for our Quality.”

Women in Manufacturing

Manufacturing offers opportunities to build technical knowledge and contribute to the products and processes that serve customers. Tess recognizes that working in the industry as a woman can bring both rewarding opportunities and challenges.

Her role in Quality demonstrates the important contribution that technical expertise and problem-solving bring to manufacturing. It also highlights the many career paths available to people who want to make a difference in how products are made and delivered.

“Working as a woman in manufacturing involves a mix of rewarding career paths, unique technical opportunities, and persistent workplace challenges,” she says.

A Commitment Customers Can Count On

For Tess, success comes down to delivering products that meet expectations while keeping operations running smoothly.

“A successful day in quality looks like zero product defects, smooth operations, zero NOD (Notice of Dispute) and happy customers!”

That goal requires a proactive mindset and a willingness to keep improving. For Tess and her team, quality is not simply a final checkpoint. It is a shared responsibility that shapes how work gets done throughout the plant. She believes this commitment is what helps turn first-time buyers into long-term customers. When customers can rely on consistent quality, they have greater confidence in the products they receive and the people behind them. This Manufacturing Month, Tess’s perspective highlights the people and processes behind every box. At Atlantic, quality is built through everyday decisions and a team-wide commitment to doing things right.

As Tess reminds us, the reputation of the company is built on the manufacturing floor. Every employee has a role in protecting that trust and delivering on our customers’ expectations.