Tekna accredited under new NADCAP metal powder standard
Tekna Holding AS, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, has received accreditation from NADCAP (National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program) for its metal powder manufacturing. Reported to be the first metal powder producer to achieve NADCAP Audit Criteria AC7143, the certificate was officially granted on October 15, following the formal audit completed in August.
About AC7143
The NADCAP Audit Criteria AC7143 define requirements specifically tailored for metallic powder material manufacturing. These include:
- Raw material traceability and certification
- Powder production process controls (e.g. atomisation, classification, handling)
- Contamination control and cleanliness protocols
- Quality assurance testing and documentation (e.g. particle size, composition, morphology)
- Change control, calibration, and preventive maintenance
- Audit trail, reporting, and nonconformance management
Standards development
The development of AC7143 was a collaborative initiative involving key aerospace and defence stakeholders, including BAE Systems, GKN Aerospace, Safran, and the Performance Review Institute (PRI). Since 2023, Tekna has actively participated in development and hosted training sessions for auditors at its Canadian manufacturing facility.
“From day one, we saw this effort not just as an internal quality upgrade, but a contribution to the aerospace and defence supply chain globally,” stated Claude Jean, CEO of Tekna. “By helping to shape the audit criteria, and then demonstrating compliance through our own processes, we believe we are offering reassurance to our customers that our powders meet the most rigorous standards possible.”
The new AC7143 standard aims to establish a global benchmark for quality, traceability, and consistency in powder manufacturing. Its criteria define mandatory practice areas such as traceability, process controls, quality assurance, contamination control, documentation, and equipment maintenance.
Achieving the accreditation included:
- Auditor training hosted on-site: To ensure consistent interpretation of the new standard, Tekna’s Canadian facility hosted training sessions for NADCAP and OEM auditors, providing direct exposure to real-world metal powder workflows and thereby improving mutual understanding, and validating the audit checklist in practice
- Internal readiness and mock audits: Throughout 2024–2025, Tekna teams ran internal gap analyses, mock audits, and process refinements to ensure full compliance with AC7143 ahead of the formal audit
- Formal audit and certification: The auditor team thoroughly examined the powder manufacturing facility, procedural controls, documentation, traceability systems, quality records, etc; after solving two minor non-conformances, Tekna passed the audit
Achieving NADCAP accreditation under AC7143 demonstrates that Tekna’s metal powders now adhere to a high industry standard of quality and traceability from raw materials to final inspection.
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