Global Quality Champions Honored as AI and Data Redefine Manufacturing Excellence

IRVINE, CA – April 09, 2026 – In an industry undergoing a profound transformation fueled by artificial intelligence and digital innovation, Ease.io today celebrated the vanguards of manufacturing quality. The company, a leading provider of AI-powered audit and inspection software, announced the winners of its eighth annual Champions for Quality Awards, casting a spotlight on the global professionals, teams, and facilities that are setting new benchmarks for excellence and leadership.

This year's awards, recognizing achievements throughout 2025, highlight a crucial synergy: the powerful combination of human expertise and cutting-edge technology in driving measurable improvements on the plant floor. The winners represent a diverse, global community, with honorees from the United Kingdom, China, South Africa, India, Spain, and across the United States, reflecting the worldwide pursuit of superior quality standards.

A New Era of Quality Leadership

The Champions for Quality Awards aim to elevate the role of quality professionals in an era of rapid change. As manufacturers navigate complex supply chains and increasing consumer expectations, a robust culture of quality has become a critical competitive differentiator. Ease.io's awards program acknowledges those who not only meet standards but actively redefine them.

"The Champions for Quality Awards recognize the commitment and innovation of the professionals who are strengthening quality throughout their organization," said Adam Wegel, CEO of Ease.io. "I'm incredibly impressed by the results this year's honorees have achieved. They represent a global community spanning industries from automotive to consumer goods. Their leadership in building and sustaining strong cultures of quality plays a critical role in advancing manufacturing performance worldwide."

The awards are divided into two primary groups: those based on public nominations celebrating individual influence and leadership, and those determined by empirical data from the EASE platform, which quantifies performance and transformation.

Honoring the Human Element of Excellence

While technology provides the tools, it is the dedication and ingenuity of individuals that truly drive change. The public-nominated awards celebrate these "unsung heroes" of the production line. The prestigious Leadership Award was presented to Kevin Keane of ARTIFEX in Liverpool, UK, for his role as a powerful advocate for quality and safety programs at a senior level. In Jiaxing, China, Chen Qiang of STABILUS was named Ambassador of the year, a recognition of a career dedicated to fostering a lasting culture of quality.

In the United States, Demario Mercer of Millennium Print Group in North Carolina, a subsidiary of The Pokémon Company International, earned the Trailblazer award. This category honors users who creatively expand the use of the EASE platform beyond its primary audit functions into areas like safety, 5S, and root cause analysis, demonstrating the software's versatility.

The Influencer award went to Robert Hamilton of JTEKT Automotive in Tennessee for his ability to generate excitement and buy-in for quality initiatives among his peers. Highlighting the industry's future, the Promising Newcomer award was given to Vismay Chand of DANA in Karnataka, India, recognizing his standout potential as a future leader in quality.

Data-Driven Distinction and Measurable Impact

Beyond individual accolades, the awards program leverages millions of data points from the EASE platform to identify top-performing plants and teams. These data-based awards provide a clear, objective measure of success and the tangible return on investment from digitizing plant floor processes.

The coveted Plant of the Year award was earned by a DANA facility in Zaragoza, Spain. The plant was evaluated on a weighted combination of audit insights, including exceptional rates for on-time audit completion and the timely closure of corrective actions. This achievement is emblematic of the success companies like Dana have seen with the platform; in the past, a company executive credited the EASE platform as a key factor in reducing internal defects by 47% within one of its major divisions.

The Auditor of the Year award recognized Bruce Chubb of Mold-Rite Plastics in Plattsburg, New York, for his remarkable audit completion rate and diligence, with his colleague Francis Neri earning an honorable mention. This highlights that even at the individual user level, commitment to process adherence creates a significant impact.

Demonstrating successful technology adoption, the Best Implementation award went to Blanc & Fisher Cerkno in Slovenia, while the Quality Transformation award was presented to Great Dane in Danville, Pennsylvania, for achieving the highest percentage increase in on-time audits and mitigations over a 12-month period. These awards showcase how a focused effort to digitize and automate quality processes can yield dramatic and rapid improvements in operational discipline and efficiency.

Investing in the Industry's Future

Underscoring a commitment to the long-term health of the manufacturing sector, Ease.io has once again made a donation to the SAE Foundation as part of the awards program. The foundation is a nonprofit organization that develops and delivers STEM education programs and scholarships for students from early education through high school, aiming to build a strong pipeline of future engineers and technical leaders.

"We're honored to be recognized again by Ease.io through its Champions for Quality Awards," said Jamie Ferguson, Executive Director of the SAE Foundation. "Their continued support helps us broaden hands-on STEM learning experiences for students and strengthen the pathway of tech-ready talent our industry needs."

This partnership connects the celebration of today's leaders with the cultivation of tomorrow's innovators, creating a virtuous cycle of excellence. As the manufacturing landscape continues to evolve, the principles celebrated by the Champions for Quality Awards—leadership, innovation, data-driven decision-making, and a commitment to people—remain the cornerstones of world-class performance.