ALLENTOWN, Pa. (January 30, 2002) — Four Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) electronic chemicals production and research and development facilities in the U.S. have received certification under the International Organization for Standardization's (ISO) 9001:2000 quality management standard.
The four sites include Air Products Electronic Chemicals [APEC] (Carlsbad, Calif.); Schumacher (Carlsbad, Calif.), a business unit of APEC which designs, develops and manufactures specialty chemicals and related delivery equipment; Photoresist Ancilliaries (Tempe, Ariz.), a business unit of APEC which manufacturers photoresist developer; and the company's Southwest Electronic Chemicals Analytical Laboratory (Tempe, Ariz.), Air Products' first off-site analytical laboratory targeted to the semiconductor industry. These four locations are the first Air Products facilities to be certified to the new standard.
In December 2000, ISO reorganized its certification process in order to create a more logical structure and to make the ISO 9001:2000 standard more compatible with the ISO 14001 environmental management standard. As such, ISO 9001:2000 has replaced the ISO 9001:1994 standard, and the ISO 9002:1994 and ISO 9003:1994 quality standards have been discontinued. All companies that are currently ISO 9001:1994 certified will be required to become ISO 9001:2000 certified by December 2003.
"As a company focused on building lasting relationships with customers, our certification to the new ISO 9001:2000 standard further reflects our commitment to meet and exceed customer requirements, delivering the value that results in superior product and service satisfaction for our customers," said Patricia A. Mattimore, president of APEC.
Ms. Mattimore noted that the ISO 9001:2000 registration was achieved through a six-month effort to update APEC's management system documentation and provide companywide training on the new requirements.
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (www.airproducts.com) is the world's only combined gases and chemicals company. Founded more than 60 years ago, the business has annual revenues of $5.7 billion and operations in 30 countries. Air Products is a market leader in the global electronics and chemical processing industries, and a long-standing innovator in many industrial markets, including coatings, adhesives and polyurethanes. The company distinguishes itself through its 18,000 employees around the world, who build lasting relationships with their customers and communities based on understanding, integrity and passion. |
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