For Immediate Release

Winning Teams Awarded Gold, Silver, and Bronze at ASQ World Conference

Milwaukee, Wis., May 4, 2006 –Three teams took top honors in a tough competition at the 21st International Team Excellence Competition at the ASQ World Conference on Quality and Improvement held this week in Milwaukee, Wis. The live contest featured 27 teams from around the world hoping to achieve their “Olympic” moment as leaders in quality improvement and performance. Team participants included representatives from Boeing, Honda of America Mfg., Fidelity Investments, and Baxter Healthcare, vying for international recognition and the ASQ Gold, Silver, and Bronze Awards. In a rousing ceremony hosted by Green Bay Packers President & CEO John Jones, this year’s award winners were announced:

2006 International Team Excellence Award

Gold Winner

Company: Reliance Industries Limited India, Hazira Manufacturing Division – Hazira, India

Team: Reliance Hazira Polyester Fiberfill Cost Reduction Team

Project: This team’s project greatly reduced the production cost of polyester fiberfill by controlling high cost items without affecting product properties or process operations.

Silver Winner

Company: Boeing C17 Program – Long Beach, Calif., USA

Team: Transportation Tracking Team

Project: The Transportation Tracking team was given the task of developing a process to visibly track inventory from receiving to production. The new process eliminated searches for lost parts, implemented online and real-time monitoring, and ensured timely delivery of inventory.

Bronze Winner

Company: Siemens VDO – Guadalajara, Mexico

Team: Mack Trucks Plant Failures Reduction

Project: The first Six Sigma project executed at the Commercial Vehicles Division of Siemens VDO Guadalajara dramatically improved quality focused on Mack Trucks Plant Returns.

Since 1985, 775 teams from Canada, China, Costa Rica, India, Japan, Mexico, and the United States have participated in this outstanding process. Well-known companies such as Baxter Healthcare, Honda, and Boeing have showcased proven results with long-term implications, resulting in cost-savings of millions of dollars. This year’s team finalist savings resulted in well over $49 million.

Next year’s International Team Excellence Final Round Competition will be held at ASQ’s World Conference on Quality and Improvement, April 30-May 2, Orlando, Fla. For information on how to participate in the 2007 International Team Excellence Competition, visit http://wcqi.asq.org or e-mail gbalagopal@asq.org.

The American Society for Quality www.asq.org has been the world's leading authority on quality for 60 years. With more than 90,000 individual and organizational members, the professional association advances learning, quality improvement, and knowledge exchange to improve business results, and to create better workplaces and communities worldwide. As champion of the quality movement, ASQ offers technologies, concepts, tools, and training to quality professionals, quality practitioners, and everyday consumers, encouraging all to Make Good Great®. ASQ has been the sole administrator of the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award since 1991. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., the 60-year-old organization is a founding partner of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), a prominent quarterly economic indicator, and also produces the Quarterly Quality Report.