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Spokane, Wash.-based housewares company Zak Designs received an official Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) Validation from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP) on Nov. 29.

“This is an extremely important initiative that we’ve been participating in since 2002,” says Irv Zakheim, president and CEO of Zak Designs. “This official validation is a tribute to the hard work of all our employees and their commitment to
do their part to help protect our borders against the threat of terrorism.”

The C-TPAT program was developed after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, as a way for the CBP and private companies to work together to tighten security measures and reduce the risk of terrorist attacks. Suppliers go through the certification program every three to four years.

Through the C-TPAT validation process, agents from the CBP visited Zak’s domestic warehouse as well as its main factories overseas to verify compliance with the supply chain security measures that Zak voluntarily agreed to implement as part of the program. The official validation certifies that the CBP has inspected the company and confirmed that Zak has implemented and is adhering to those procedures that the CBP has set forth as part of the program.

“This validation will not only help us do our part to protect the United States against acts of terrorism,” Zakheim says. “It also allows us to provide our customers with faster, more reliable service by reducing the amount of time our shipments are held up in customs. This is a great program and we’re extremely proud to receive the C-TPAT validation.”