Intertek Celebrates 20 Years of Management Systems Accreditation with its Long-Standing Clients

05 Aug 2011

Since the early 1990s, companies have partnered with Intertek to continually improve their businesses

Boxborough, MA, USA - The year was 1991. The Cold War was ending, super Nintendos flew off store shelves, Terminator 2 was at the top of the box office... and a company called Intertek Services Corporation in Fairfax, VA became the first U.S.-based registrar to be accredited by the RvC (Dutch Certification Council) for ISO 9001.

Today the Cold War, super Nintendo, and Terminator 2 are distant memories, but the legacy of Intertek Services Corporation lives on as the Business Assurance unit of the Intertek Group. Intertek is now celebrating the twentieth anniversary of its initial management systems accreditation on August 7, 1991.

Earning accreditation for a new service in an untapped market took a lot of hard work. "I remember sitting on the floor from 5:00 to midnight almost every night for two months, trying to put together all the documents required to obtain accreditation - then, during the day, knocking on doors to explain this new 'ISO certification' to potential clients," said Lisa Hartley, director of Intertek's management systems certification group from 1990-1995.

However, that hard work paid off as many pioneering companies immediately saw the benefits of "ISO certification" and sought accredited third-party certification. Several of those pioneers have continually maintained their certification with Intertek since the early 1990s.

DORMA Architectural Hardware, located in Reamstown, PA, was one of Intertek's first certified clients. "In 1992, DORMA became certified to ISO 9002 by Intertek Services Corporation. Intertek was one of only a few companies that we recognized as a legitimate registrar," said Paul Nee, manager of quality at DORMA. The company expanded its certification to ISO 9001 in 1995, updated to ISO 9001:2008 in 2010, and is currently working to become certified to ISO 14001 in 2012. "We have enjoyed a partnership with Intertek for 20 years that has enabled us to continually improve our quality performance," continued Mr. Nee.

Another early Intertek-certified organization is A. M. Castle & Co., a leading distributor of metals and plastics headquartered in Oak Brook, IL. "For our first registration in 1993, we were looking for an auditor with experience, a focus on the customer, and a desire to work with us to continually improve our process," said Rich Ryan, corporate quality manager at A. M. Castle. "We selected Intertek for that first audit, and have had an ongoing relationship for nearly 18 years because they have never waivered from those original objectives."

"We at Intertek are very proud to have maintained our status as an accredited registrar for the last twenty years - and even prouder that we've maintained a singular focus on our customers' success since day one," said Calin Moldovean, president of Intertek's Business Assurance group. "Our recent acquisition of Moody International, who has also been accredited for twenty years by UKAS [the United Kingdom Accreditation Service], further strengthens our industry leadership and our global presence. Together, we'll continue to leverage the depth of our experience to answer the evolving needs of our customers, supporting them in the global marketplace with our world-class auditing services."

Contacts
For further information, please contact:

Stacey Corbin
Global Marketing Manager, Business Assurance
Telephone: +1 978 929 2116
E-Mail: stacey.corbin@intertek.com

About Intertek
Intertek is a leading provider of quality and safety solutions serving a wide range of industries around the world. From auditing and inspection, to testing, quality assurance and certification, Intertek people are dedicated to adding value to customers' products and processes, supporting their success in the global marketplace. Intertek has the expertise, resources and global reach to support its customers through its network of more than 1,000 laboratories and offices and 30,000 people in over 100 countries around the world. Intertek Group plc (LSE: ITRK) is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. Visit: www.intertek.com.