AUGUSTA – Kennebec Tool & Die of Augusta recently decided to upgrade its ISO 9000 designation to newly revised standards.

ISO stands for International Standards Organization.

“We decided to upgrade to the new ISO9001: 2000 standard because there have been many revisions since we originally worked with the Maine Manufacturing Extension Partnership (Maine MEP) in the fall of 2000 on our original designation,” said Mike Craig, quality manager for Kennebec Tool & Die. The 9001:2000 signifies the company has met a rigorous set of internationally observed standards.

“Officials at Kennebec Tool & Die should be commended for their initiative in upgrading their ISO designation,” said Rod Rodrigue, president of the Maine MEP. “The original ISO standards were set in 1994, and many improvements and trends have changed since that time.”

Maine MEP has worked with many companies to complete the work necessary to receive an ISO designation during the past several years. “There is nothing easy about going through the ISO process,” Rodrigue said, “but our project managers and consultants are familiar with what it takes to receive an ISO designation and how to work with companies of all sizes to ensure the process goes as smoothly as possible.”

Since ISO was implemented at Kennebec Tool & Die in 2000, it has worked extremely well for the company, Craig said, because customers understand an ISO designation guarantees a properly applied standard that continually measures effectiveness and performance.