Spansion Continues Rigorous ISO/TS 16949 Automotive Quality Management Certification

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Jan. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Spansion Inc. today announced that UL DQS Inc. Management Systems Solutions, a leading global certification body for management systems, has recertified all of its Flash memory design, development and manufacturing facilities around the world to the stringent ISO/TS 16949 worldwide automotive quality management system specification. This recertification involved the efforts of several hundred Spansion employees at nine global locations and enables the company to meet the strict certification requirements to participate in premium portions of the Flash memory market.

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"Spansion passed the rigorous ISO/TS 16949 audit with the company's best results to date," said Ed Lavender, auditor with UL DQS Inc. "Typically a company that is going through a restructuring or bankruptcy process has many of its processes falling apart and the certification is often no longer practical. This was far from the situation at Spansion – all of the company's global sites were fully compliant and critical system processes were well maintained."

ISO/TS 16949 recertification means that Spansion continues to be officially compliant with one of the most challenging sets of quality management system specifications in the world. ISO/TS 16949 includes the ISO 9001 standard, plus additional automotive sector requirements applicable to suppliers throughout the automotive supply chain. It was prepared by the International Automotive Task Force (IATF) and Japan Automotive Manufacturers Association, Inc. (JAMA), with support from ISO/TC 176, Quality Management and Quality Assurance.

"Spansion takes its commitment to quality and reliability very seriously," said Gene Daszko, director of Quality for Spansion. "Not all semiconductor companies choose to participate in this certification simply because the standards are so high and the process is so intensive. Spansion succeeded in its certification because we are more than just a supplier for customers, we believe in being their trusted partner."

This certification renewal represents the entire global Spansion organization, including all of the company's Flash memory fabs, design and engineering centers and final assembly sites. Spansion has maintained its ISO/TS 16949 quality management system requirements for certification since its inception in 2003.

About the ISO/TS 16949 Specification

ISO/TS 16949, in conjunction with ISO 9001, defines the quality management system requirements for the design and development, production and, when relevant, installation and service of automotive-related products. ISO/TS 16949 is applicable to sites of the organization where customer-specified parts, for production and/or service, are manufactured. Supporting functions, whether on-site or remote (such as design centers, corporate headquarters and distribution centres), form part of the site audit as they support the site, but cannot obtain stand-alone certification to this standard.  ISO/TS 16949 can be applied throughout the automotive supply chain.

About Spansion

Spansion (Pink Sheets: SPSNQ) is a leading Flash memory solutions provider, dedicated to enabling, storing and protecting digital content in automotive, consumer electronics, networking and wireless applications. Spansion is focused exclusively on designing, developing, manufacturing, marketing, selling and licensing Flash memory solutions. For more information, visit http://www.spansion.com.

Spansion®, the Spansion logo, MirrorBit®, MirrorBit® Eclipse™, ORNAND™, EcoRAM™ and combinations thereof, are trademarks and registered trademarks of Spansion LLC in the United States and other countries. Other names used are for informational purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.

SOURCE Spansion Inc.