For Immediate Release
Volvo Cars of North America builds a quality future with
ISO 9002 certification
ROCKLEIGH, NJ - February 19, 2001 - Volvo Cars of North America, LLC. has earned a place on the world stage of quality-driven organizations following the announcement that the company and all 13 of its locations have gained the coveted ISO 9002 certification.
The company gained certification in what may be record time - less than 12 months from announcement to completion.
The certification, which includes a thorough audit of the company's processes and procedures, included field offices, ports and distribution centers, as well as the corporate head office in Rockleigh and the head office of Volvo Cars of Canada Ltd. in Toronto.
ISO 9000 is widely recognized around the world as a demonstration of an organization's commitment to product quality, customer service and efficient management, says Bruce Olds, Manager Organizational Development, who is responsible for ISO 9002 as well as ISO 14000 at Volvo Cars of North America. The certification not only helps ensure future quality, it identifies current short-comings and permits the on-going monitoring of quality by virtually everyone in the organization.
"This has been like holding up a mirror to our organization. We get to see ourselves - our strengths and our weaknesses - and how we measure up to other quality-driven organizations," says Olds. "But perhaps the greatest benefit is the opportunity it presents for the continuous improvement of everything we do."
Customers, suppliers, governments and others look at ISO certification as a clear indicator of an organization's dedication to quality and consistency, adds Olds.
The certification was granted by the Vehicle Certification Agency under the jurisdiction of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), a worldwide federation of national standards bodies from some 130 countries. ISO (www.iso.ch) is a non-governmental organization based in Geneva, Switzerland. It was established in 1947.
According to the organization, tens of thousands of businesses are implementing ISO 9000 which provides a framework for quality management and quality assurance. The ISO 14000 series provides a similar framework for environmental management.
"The ISO 9000 family of standards represents an international consensus on good management practices with the aim of ensuring that the organization can time and time again deliver the product or services that meet the client's quality requirements. These good practices have been distilled into a set of standardized requirements for a quality management system, regardless of what your organization does, its size, or whether it's in the private, or public sector," says information published by the organization.
Volvo Cars of North America is part of the Volvo Car Corporation of Goteborg, Sweden.
The company provides marketing, sales, parts, service, technology and training support to the 328 Volvo automobile retailers in the US and 43 in Canada. The 2001 Volvo automobile line includes the flagship S80 luxury sedan, versatile V70 wagon and rugged Cross Country, C70 coupe and convertible, the sporty, new S60 sedan and compact S40 and V40 models.
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Contact:
Dan Johnston
800-970-0888