Airgas Adds Three ISO 17025 and Five ISO 9001:2000 Certifications; Now Has 32 Labs Nationwide with ISO Certification
Airgas, Inc. (NYSE:ARG) today announced that three of its specialty gas facilities have earned ISO 17025 accreditation from the American Association of Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA). In addition, five Airgas plants have earned ISO 9001:2000 certifications from Quality Management Systems Registrars, Inc., bringing the number of Airgas specialty gas facilities that have certifications for ISO programs to 32, more than half of the company’s 60 specialty gas facilities nationwide.
“These ISO 17025 accreditations and ISO 9001:2000 certifications demonstrate Airgas’ commitment to the very highest standards,” said John Long, vice president of quality assurance and technical support for Airgas Specialty Gases. “They ensure that we can provide the precision, accuracy and repeatability of results that our customers need to be successful.”
ISO 17025 is the international standard for calibration and testing laboratories. Many of the industries that Airgas serves, including the automotive and aerospace markets, require it. Airgas expects that the certifications will minimize customer need for audits, increase global acceptance of Airgas specialty gas products, and ensure conformance to QS-9000 and ISO 16949 mandates for emission testing applications.
The ISO 17025 accreditations are for three specialty gas facilities added through the acquisition of The BOC Group’s U.S. packaged gas business in August. They include Airgas Specialty Gas national labs in Port Allen, LA and Riverton, NJ and an Airgas Great Lakes facility in Royal Oak, MI.
The A2LA is a non-profit, public service, membership society dedicated to the formal recognition of competent testing and calibration laboratories, inspection bodies, proficiency testing providers and reference material producers.
Airgas will make a presentation on the benefits of the ISO 17025 accreditation for providers and users of calibration gases at the Pittsburgh Conference (PITTCON) on Monday, February 28, 2005. More information about Airgas’ specialty gas facilities, ISO certifications, products and services will be available at the Airgas booth, #4301, from February 27 to March 4, 2005.
Separately, the following Airgas regional specialty gas facilities were awarded ISO 9001:2000 certification for quality management systems by Quality Systems Registrars, Inc., an accredited third-party registrar. The scope of the three-year registration is for the manufacture and sale of specialty gas at the approved sites: Airgas Mid South’s facilities in Tulsa, OK; Airgas Gulf States’ facilities in Geismar, LA and Theodore, AL; and Airgas Great Lakes’ plants in Lansing, MI and Middletown, OH.
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies from more than 140 countries, one from each country. Its ISO 9001:2000 standard specifies requirements for a quality management system for any organization that needs to demonstrate its ability to consistently make product that meets customer and applicable regulatory requirements and aims to enhance customer satisfaction. Independent third-party registrars, like Quality Systems Registrars, Inc., conduct audits and grant certifications based on the ISO 9000 series standards. QSR is accredited by RAB (United States) and RvA (Dutch).
About Airgas, Inc.
Airgas, Inc. (NYSE:ARG) is the largest U.S. distributor of industrial, medical and specialty gases, welding, safety and related products. Its integrated network of nearly 900 locations includes branches, retail stores, gas fill plants, specialty gas labs, production facilities and distribution centers. Airgas also distributes its products and services through eBusiness, catalog and telesales channels. Its national scale and strong local presence offer a competitive edge to its diversified customer base. For more information, please visit www.airgas.com .
