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Three Transmission Technologies Facilities Recommended For QS-9000

15 November 1999

Three Transmission Technologies Corporation Facilities Recommended For QS-9000 Certification

    FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich., Nov. 11 -- As preferred suppliers
become closer partners with vehicle OEMs, quality standards and practices
become even more critical.  In response, Transmission Technologies Corporation
(TTC) has sought corporate-wide compliance with the industry's most stringent
standards for manufacturing quality processes-QS-9000.  For several years,
TTC's two transmission manufacturing plants in Queretaro, Mexico, have held
QS-9000 certification.  Now, Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., has recommended
QS-9000 certification for TTC facilities in Toledo, OH, Farmington Hills, MI,
and Knoxville, TN.  This move will make the entire TTC organization fully
QS-9000 compliant.
    Based on ISO 9001 international quality certification standards, the
QS-9000 program includes quality system requirements that are directed
specifically at the automotive and truck industry.  To qualify for QS-9000
certification, each manufacturing facility must identify, measure and monitor
crucial procedures for all of the engineering, manufacturing, and
administration processes that occur at that location.  Therefore, a QS-9000
program encompasses everything from management responsibilities and design
procedures to systems for process control, problem correction, quality
enhancement and data processing.  Once these procedures are in place, they are
used to stimulate continuous improvement, defect prevention and process
consistency in the supply chain.
    "While QS-9000 certification is a requirement for Tier One suppliers to
automotive OEMs, we wanted all our customers in the medium- and heavy-duty
markets to benefit from these standards, too," says Howard Loveless, plant
manager at the TTC Knoxville facility.  "The hard work done by everyone
involved in this successful result demonstrates the level of quality
commitment that runs throughout our entire corporation."
    TTC designs, develops, manufactures, and markets transmissions for a wide
variety of vehicles, from high-performance passenger cars and light-duty
trucks, to medium-duty and class 8 commercial trucks.  TTC is part of the UNIK
group, one of Mexico's largest auto parts suppliers.  UNIK is a wholly-owned
subsidiary of DESC, traded on the NYSE under symbol DES.  Visit TTC on the
Internet at http://www.ttcautomotive.com