Sealeze, one of the first brush manufacturers in the United States to earn this prestigious certification, earned ISO 9002 certification in June 1997 and ISO 9001 certification in 1999. Today, Sealeze is ISO 9001:2008 certified. Click here to download a copy of this latest certification. The ISO process was created to facilitate trade, exchange and technology transfer through enhanced reliability and consistency of goods and services. Today, ISO certification is a way to differentiate suppliers, particularly where consistency of product and reliability is crucial.
 
At Sealeze, ISO certification ensures we build quality into our products and services and avoid costly after-the-fact inspections, warranties and rework. As a Sealeze customer, our steadfast dedication to the ISO process provides you with these benefits:

• services designed to meet your needs and ensure your satisfaction
• products manufactured with quality planned and documented in every step of the process
• team of trained employees, performing consistently with the goal of continuously improving all operations
• our commitment to you to do what we say we will do

Everyone at Sealeze is part of the ISO experience — marketing, sales, accounting, customer service, shipping/receiving and manufacturing. It is not just a manufacturing system, but a company-wide way of doing business that puts the needs of our customers at the center of all we do. ISO certification is not a one-time event — it is just one step in a continuous quality improvement process.

What is ISO?
ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies from over 140 countries. The purpose of ISO is to promote the development of standardization and related world activities to facilitate the international exchange of goods and services, and to develop cooperation in intellectual, scientific, technological and economic activity.
 
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) represents the United States in the International Organization for Standardization. It is a private, nonprofit membership organization composed of private and public sector organizations, and was a founding member of ISO. ANSI does not develop American national standards but facilitates their development by establishing consensus among qualified groups. ANSI also has a role in governing the ISO.
 
What are the Standards?
The ISO 9000 family of standards represents an international consensus on “good manufacturing practices.” When adhered to, these practices ensure that the certified company can consistently deliver products or services that meet requirements for quality and timeliness of delivery.

An independent auditor, who verifies that the processes influencing quality conform to the relevant standard’s requirements, provides ISO 9000 certification. The objective is to give a company’s management and customers confidence that the company is in control of the way it does business.
 
Why be ISO Certified
While no organization must be ISO 9000 certified, it has become the standard for conducting business in the international arena. In fact, ISO 9000 is the only quality system accepted internationally. Many companies in the European Community have become ISO certified and many are requiring their suppliers to prove that they have a quality system, such as ISO, in place as a condition of purchase.

In the United States, ISO 9000 certification has become wide spread as well. The big three auto manufacturers have implemented quality management systems that conform to ISO 9000 standards. And, many government agencies are implementing or considering implementing ISO 9000, or are using the standards as guidelines within their agency. For up-to-date information regarding agency participation, check with the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s clearinghouse on federal ISO 9000 activities.
 
What ISO is Not
It is important to point out that ISO 9000 certification does not indicate quality for any specific product or group of products. Rather, ISO 9000 certifies that a company has a Quality Management System in place and, more importantly, that it adheres to this system in conducting its business. The standards in ISO are general enough that any manufacturing organization can apply them. However, to keep certification, a certified company must maintain a commitment to and incorporate a process of continuous improvement and customer satisfaction.
 
For More Information
We have just skimmed the surface of ISO certification and what it means to you and the company you are doing business with. The ISO 9000 Handbook published by CEEM Information Services is a complete source of ISO 9000 information. For those of you who like to browse the Internet, here are a few on-line references:

ISO Online — http://www.iso.ch/
ANSI Online — http://www.ansi.org/
ISO 9000 Web Directory — the ISO 9000 yellow pages of the Web http://www.iso9000directory.com/