ISO CERTIFICATION

The Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations production plant in Des Moines, Iowa, is the first agricultural tire plant in the United States to obtain ISO 9001:2008 certification.

ISO 9001:2008 is a series of international standards and guidelines on quality management and quality assurance established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), a worldwide federation of national standards bodies. Being ISO-certified is the key to expanding the agricultural company’s presence in international markets, and will allow the Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations - Ag Division to become a major global agricultural and forestry tire supplier.

ISO certification is important because it is recognized worldwide as an accepted standard of quality. When companies can accurately document their quality systems, they can compare their systems against a recognized quality standard and improve what they offer to customers. Also, because ISO certification is an understood standard, companies can use it to gauge and select the vendors or subcontractors they work with.

ISO 14001

The plant is ISO 14001 certified. The ISO 14001 certification is similar to the ISO 9001:2008 process but it focuses on environmental issues.