Hitchiner's Ferrous Division earned QS-9000 registration in March of 1998 for three New Hampshire sites serving the automotive industry. The sites are located in Milford and Littleton. Hitchiner S.A. de C.V., located in Santiago Tianguistenco, Mexico, was QS-9000 certified in June of the same year. "QS-9000" is short for "Quality System Requirements QS-9000," the common quality system standard for suppliers to the Big Three-Chrysler Corporation, Ford Motor Company, and General Motors Corporation-and several heavy-truck companies. The Big Three based the stringent standard on the ISO-9000 standard.

ISO-9000 Certification is the world wide quality management and quality assurance standard. This standard is being adapted for use by both the defense and commercial sectors, and its achievement is of prime importance to Hitchiner's global marketing efforts. ISO-9000 is divided into several subsets, including ISO-9001, 9002, 9003 and 9004. ISO-9002, the level that Hitchiner has certified to, provides quality guidelines for manufacturing, and thus is appropriate for our industry.

The International Standard Organization (ISO) was founded in 1946 to develop a common set of manufacturing, trade and communication standards. The lSO is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is comprised of 91 member countries. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is the U.S. representative to the ISO. There are 173 technical committees, subcommittees, working groups, and ad-hoc groups that participate on standards reviews.

In order to be certified, auditors from a registration house evaluate a company's functions, procedures, and methods of communication to determine whether they fully comply with the requirements of the ISO. Det Norske Veritas (DNV), the Norway-based auditing firm which Hitchiner used, requires that each of 20 elements be satisfied.

For more information on the ISO-9000 and QS-9000 quality standards, visit the American Society for Quality web page.