Air Methods' Products Division Awarded ISO Certifications
Products Division Earns ISO 9001: 94 (Quality Systems);
AS 9000 (Aerospace); EN 46001 (Medical Devices)
ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Sept. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Air Methods Corporation (Nasdaq: AIRM) announced today that the Products Division has been awarded a certificate of registration for the following International Organization for Standardization standards -- ISO 9001: 1994 (Quality Systems), AS 9000 (Aerospace) and EN 46001 (Medical Devices). In addition, the Products Division was recommended for registration to the newly updated ISO 9001: 2000 and AS 9100 standards. The Company expects to receive these certificates once the standards are approved in early 2001.
ISO 9000 is the general quality management standard for most business sectors throughout the world. "Quality is the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bear upon its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs," as defined by the International Organization for Standardization. This standard encompasses all aspects of management that ultimately results in satisfying the Products Division's customers' needs, as well as the needs of Air Methods' customers.
Although ISO 9000 is intended as a universal quality management system, certain industries have found a need to add their own specific and unique requirements. Since the Products Division has customers in both the aerospace and healthcare industries, we pursued and were granted registration to the specific standards for Aerospace and Medical Devices industries.
Michael G. Prieto, vice president of the Products Division, said, "Everyone in the Division contributed to this very significant accomplishment. With this, we have satisfied a major commitment of our Spinal Cord Injury Transport Program with the U.S. Air Force. In addition, we have strengthened our already strong reputation in the air medical products market and facilitated our diversification into the aerospace market. Bottom line, this is one of the key elements that will enable the Products Division to achieve our growth objective of $50 million in division annual revenue in the next five years!
"To the best of our knowledge, we are the first in our industry to have received all three certifications. Others have received the ISO 9001 certification but not registrations in the specific areas of Aerospace and Medical Devices. This is truly a unique combination of expertise and a testimony to the people of the Products Division." |
