DuPont Coatings Business is Among the First to Earn New Auto Industry ISO Quality Management Certifications

TROY, Mich., April 20 -- The DuPont Mount Clemens automotive coatings plant, DuPont Troy Coatings Laboratory and operations at the DuPont Automotive headquarters here are now registered to comply with the latest ISO quality management standard for the auto industry, ISO/TS-16949:2002, well ahead of deadlines set by the auto companies. The new, more demanding ISO standard supercedes the U.S. auto industry's QS-9000 with deadlines for transition ranging from July 2004 to December 2006.

"DuPont is leading its main automotive coatings competitors in complying with this new ISO standard and is committed to meeting the highest requirements of quality management system as part of our overall business managing process," said Stephen L. Cox, vice president - Americas for DuPont Herberts Automotive Systems. "We are especially pleased to have earned this timely registration at our Mount Clemens plant that represents the largest automotive coatings production facility in the world in terms of production output."

According to Joseph A. De Biaso, DuPont senior consultant for ISO compliance, only 10 percent of the 24,000 QS-9000 registrations worldwide, have transitioned to the more stringent ISO 2002 standard. Moreover, all of the DuPont ISO/TS-16949:2002 registrations, as an extension of ISO 9001, have been achieved in their first third-party assessment. In total, DuPont now has 17 registrations to the new ISO standard in its Performance Coatings business unit for automotive OEM coatings and refinishes, industrial coatings and digital inks with more slated to be completed in the coming months.

ISO states that the ISO/TS 16949:2002 was developed by a partnership comprising the International Automotive Task Force (IATF) and the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) with the support of ISO technical committee ISO/TC 176, which is responsible for the ISO 9000 family of quality management standards. This new Technical Specification, in conjunction with ISO 9001:2000, defines the quality management system requirements for the design and development, production and, when relevant, installation and service of automotive-related products. It is applicable to sites of the organization where customer-specified parts, for production and/or service, are manufactured. Supporting functions, whether on-site or remote (such as design centers, corporate headquarters and distribution centers), form part of the site audit as they support the site, but cannot obtain stand-alone certification to this Technical Specification.

According to ISO, the deadlines already announced by U.S. automakers for transitioning to the new standard are December 14, 2006 for suppliers to Ford and General Motors and July 1, 2004 for DaimlerChrysler suppliers. These mandates will result in a transition from QS-9000 to ISO/TS 16949:2002 as the industry standard of choice.

DuPont is a science company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by solving problems and creating solutions that make people's lives better, safer and easier. Operating in more than 70 countries, the company offers a wide range of products and services to markets including agriculture, nutrition, electronics, communications, safety and protection, home and construction, transportation and apparel.