TRADE AND TRANSPORTATION : More Companies Let Outside Auditors Put Their High Quality on the Record

It’s one thing to be running at peak efficiency. It’s quite another to tell the world about it.

And that appears to be one of the ideas behind the latest self-improvement kick among Orange County companies.

Having reinvented and reengineered themselves, corporations are now turning to outside inspectors to certify their high quality. One by one, they are reporting that they have passed muster with requirements of the International Organization of Standards, which has been adopted by 90 nations including the European Union.

The standards require that companies document policies and procedures to ensure that the goods and services they exchange in world trade are of the highest quality. Auditors visit a company’s facilities, with reinspections every three years.

“Quality is the single most important element required to participate in the new global economy,” said Arne Antos, chairman of Corporate Quality Services, a Mission Viejo company that counsels other firms on how to meet the standards. “Whether or not your company seeks ISO certification, implementing this system will enhance productivity.”

Burlington Air Express, based in Irvine, has been certifying its various operating stations around the world. The latest to receive it are in Penang, Malaysia; and Basel, Geneva and Zurich, all in Switzerland.

“Our company goal is to have every office certified,” said Mark Carlson, Burlington’s vice president of global quality. “We have chosen to seek local certification in each country instead of a companywide certification.”

Alps Manufacturing USA, the Garden Grove subsidiary of a Tokyo-based maker of electronic components, has also received certification. The qualification process took a full year.

“The quality system refinements and improvements, resulting from the ISO registration process, will allow us to provide customers with superior quality and innovative, technologically advanced products at the lowest possible prices,” said George Kilishek, the division’s vice president.

The Tustin manufacturing plant of Steelcase North America, maker of office furniture, won its approval along with its 13 other contract facilities. That made parent Steelcase Inc., based in Grand Rapids, Mich., the largest U.S. company to receive certification in a single swipe.