CONTACT: Eric Johnson
Carrier Corporation
(315) 432-7373
Syracuse, N.Y., Nov. 22 -- Carrier Corporation's residential products plant in Collierville, Tenn. has won the Tennessee Quality Achievement Award presented by the
Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.
The award, based on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award criteria, was established by the Tennessee governor's office to stimulate the quality of products and services offered by the state's private and public organizations.
"Carrier has done a great service to Tennessee by setting high standards for others to follow," according to Marie B. Williams, executive director of the Tennessee Quality Award program. "Quality is an ongoing journey and we are proud of the efforts of Carrier and many other organizations throughout the state."
In addition to the 35-page application that sought specific examples of how Carrier manages quality and had improved the quality of its products, three independent examiners spent two days documenting the company's quality processes.
"You don't receive this award unless you can prove you've gone through several iterations of your quality processes and they have resulted in certifiable improvements," Mike Jenkins, Collierville's quality systems supervisor and ISO program manager said, "As an example, no longer do we rely on simple end-of-the-line inspections. Each piece of equipment is examined at each stage of the manufacturing process and then run-tested before it leaves the plant. If it doesn't perform up to standards, it doesn't leave."
Examiners also investigated the quality training employees received, computer systems that track quality data on a "real time" basis, and Carrier's practice of training its suppliers in ways to improve the quality of components.
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COLLIERVILLE WINS AWARD Page 2
Carrier's Collierville plant, a few miles east of Memphis, Tenn., manufacturers residential air conditioners, heat pumps, air treatment products and packaged terminal air conditioners.
Carrier Corporation is the world's largest manufacturer of heating and air conditioning systems and equipment. It is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation, provider of a broad range of high-technology products and support services in the aerospace, building systems and automotive industries.
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