All Three Magnode Facilities QS-9000 Certified (December 18, 2000)

Aluminum extruder Magnode Corporation announced today its Monroe, Ohio, fabrication facility has earned QS-9000 certification. All three Magnode facilities are now certified.

QS-9000 is the U.S. auto industry's standard for quality and is more stringent than the ISO 9001 standard used by many industries, which all Magnode facilities already meet.

"The addition of the Monroe facility to the Magnode corporate QS-9000 certification process ends a 36-month quest of divisional certification within the company," said Martin Bidwell, Magnode president and chief operating officer. "This accomplishment could not have been attained without the tremendous effort of our entire organization. We are very proud of the Monroe division's quality efforts, and know as they begin their journey towards re-certification that they will maintain the high level of quality that they have achieved."

All three major U.S. automakers now require their suppliers to be QS-9000 compliant. "Magnode has been serving the auto industry through our Trenton, Ohio, and Indianapolis, Indiana, plants," said Greg Hinsey, Magnode's quality director and general manager for the Monroe facility. "With the Monroe facility also compliant, we open the door for even more auto business."

Non-auto industry companies are also interested in doing business with QS-9000-compliant facilities. "It's a seal of approval for us," said Hinsey. "People know that if we're good enough for some of the largest automakers on the planet, we can be trusted to do the same quality work for their products."

To keep its certification, the Monroe plant will be visited by third-party auditors every six months. "QS-9000 is an ever-evolving standard," said Hinsey. "We'll have to modify our processes accordingly to keep up with it. It's definitely a lot of work, but we've proven we can do it-and it will pay off in helping us get more business."

Magnode has another challenge. European and North American automakers are cooperating to create a new, merged quality standard known as TS-16949. "We're looking into meeting that standard, too," said Hinsey.

About Magnode's Monroe Facility

Magnode Corporation's newest fabrication division is located in Monroe, Ohio, which lies five miles east of the Trenton, Ohio, corporate office. The Monroe division employs approximately 50 employees. This ISO 9002 facility has been in service since 1997. The 55,000 square foot facility is equipped to fabricate aluminum extrusions through:

• Precision sawing
• Automatic deburr and gauging
• Application of various surface finishes such as aluminum oxide bead blasting, brushing, embossing, debossing and polishing
• CNC machining
• Silk-screening applied through pad printing technology

About Magnode Corporation

Magnode is a full-service aluminum extruder, offering engineering, casting, extrusion, forming/finishing and trucking of finished work. It is headquartered in Trenton, Ohio, and has facilities in Monroe, Ohio, and Indianapolis.

Magnode's customers include the U.S. Department of Defense as well as automotive and consumer electronics manufacturers. The company has one of only 25 presses in the United States with 4,500 tons of extrusion capacity and a maximum weight per foot of up to 24 pounds. Magnode is ISO 9002 and QS-9000 certified.