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Century Attains QS9000 Registration at Ravenswood Operations

21 September 1998

Century Attains QS9000 Registration at Ravenswood Operations

    RAVENSWOOD, W.V.--Sept. 21, 1998--The Ravenswood Operations of Century Aluminum Company has received registration in QS9000, a globally accepted quality standard set by the automotive industry for the manufacturing processes of their suppliers.
    The Ravenswood plant received the registration on its first assessment, an accomplishment achieved by only about 10 percent of all applicants.
    The Ravenswood plant began the registration process in April 1997 and has invested an estimated 175,000 person/hours achieving it. Century assigned a quality professional and a representative of Local 588 of the United Steelworkers of America to the process full time. The company also trained 29 employees as auditors to conduct two audits per year on each of 17 departments throughout the plant.
    The QS9000 standards were developed jointly by the Big Three U.S. automakers as a requirement for all their suppliers. The standard now has been adopted by virtually all segments of the transportation industry -- a market that accounts for about 80 percent of all shipments from the Ravenswood plant.
    Century produces primary aluminum and a broad range of aluminum sheet and plate products. Its principal subsidiary is Century Aluminum of West Virginia, Inc., which operates a reduction plant and rolling mill at Ravenswood, WV. Century also owns a 26.67 percent interest in an aluminum reduction plant at Mt. Holly, SC.