First ISO/TS 16949:2002 quality system certificate

First ISO/TS 16949:2002 quality system certificate in Finland for Componenta Karkkila Componenta Karkkila has become the first company in Finland to obtain certification for the new ISO/TS 16949:2002 quality management system. This system has been developed especially for the needs of the automotive industry. Through the joint efforts of IATF (International Automotive Task Force) and ISO (International Organization for Standardization), the new standard combines the quality management systems in use in the automotive industries in different countries: QS- 9000 in the USA, VDA6 in Germany, EAQF in France and AVSQ in Italy. The positive impact of the new quality management system will extend to all Componenta's customer groups, not just those in the heavy truck industry. Customers will obtain products and services of higher, more competitive quality, one aspect of this being more consistent delivery reliability. The new system will also make possible even closer R&D partnership with customers and participation in their product development, which will mean total packages of larger scope. Within the company the new standard will be visible above all in the continuous development of process control. In future we will monitor processes using statistical methods and with special programmes built for these. Improving the quality of the entire supply chain and maintaining quality management require the continuous development of personnel expertise. For this purpose, development projects for individual departments are being arranged throughout the organization, in addition to internal training. The new quality management system was audited by DNV Certification Oy towards the end of 2002 and the certificate confirming the approved audit was handed over to Componenta Karkkila in the spring of 2003. The new certificate follows on from Componenta Karkkila's SFS-EN ISO 9001 ed. 2000 quality management system certified in the spring of 2002. Helsinki, 6 May 2003 COMPONENTA CORPORATION Heikki Lehtonen President and CEO FURTHER INFORMATION Mika Valtonen Vesa Moilanen Foundry Manager Quality Manager Tel. +358 9 2250 2440 Tel. +358 9 2250 2499 Componenta is a metal sector company with international operations and production plants located in Finland and Sweden. The company's net sales exceed EUR 180 million and the group employs about 1,700 people. Componenta's shares are quoted on the Main List of the Helsinki Exchanges. The group's customers operate in the heavy truck, power and transmission, machine building and off-road industries. Componenta specializes in supplying ready-to-install cast, geared and machined components directly to the customer's assembly line. Componenta Corporation Nuijamiestentie 3 C FIN-00400 Helsinki , Finland Tel. +358 9 225 021, Fax +358 9 2250 2721 http://www.componenta.com ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/05/06/20030506BIT00750/wkr0001.doc http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/05/06/20030506BIT00750/wkr0002.pdf