Praxair Oevel Belgium Facility Earns QS 9000 Certification

    DANBURY, Conn.--June 19, 2001--Praxair, Inc. announced today that its Oevel, Belgium, Semiconductor Process Gases Facility has received QS 9000 certification.
    This plant creates product blends, and supplies various silicon precursor, etchant, dopant, and reactant semiconductor process gases for worldwide distribution. QS 9000, along with ISO 9000, is an internationally recognized program that provides companies with a blueprint for developing and maintaining efficient quality control systems.
    QS 9000 is a standard driven by automotive industry organizations such as the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG), and has been adopted by major automotive manufacturers such as Daimler-Chrysler, Ford and General Motors. These automotive companies require their first and second tier suppliers to be QS 9000 registered. The QS 9000 standard enhances the ISO 9000 requirements regarding total quality, efficiency, delivery as well as internal and external communication. QS 9000 also requires greater supplier involvement for the continuous improvement process by emphasizing defect prevention and variation and waste reduction in the supply chain.
    "The more expanded requirements of QS 9000 certification are very important to our customers. Many of the electronics customers served by Praxair supply their semiconductor products to the automotive industry," states Frank Crespo, vice president of Praxair Semiconductor Materials. "We are very proud of our Oevel team -- their facility is the first Praxair site to achieve this certification."