Smith & Associates Far East Limited Gains ISO/IEC 17025 Accreditation
Houston, TX (PRWEB) July 19, 2013 -- Smith & Associates, the largest independent distributor of electronic components, today announces the accreditation of its Asian hub office under the ISO/IEC 17025 quality standard. This standard specifies general, cross-industry requirements for competency in testing and calibration that provide laboratories a guideline for managing their quality, administrative, and technical operations.
“This accreditation reflects our continual focus on stringent quality and on providing our customers only the best product,” said Chris Dang, Smith’s Director of Global Quality Control. “A key tool in demonstrating the true underlying quality of an analytical testing program, the ISO/IEC 17025 verifies that our Hong Kong laboratory has the formal processes in place necessary to guarantee accuracy and reliability, and that its inspectors are skilled and highly competent in utilizing our extensive quality resources.”
These quality resources are about to become even more extensive, with the upcoming addition of a C-SAM (Scanning Acoustic Microscope) to Smith Asia’s laboratory, which already is outfitted with a broad array of industry-leading equipment for functional testing and counterfeit detection. The C-SAM will allow the inspectors of the Hong Kong operational hub to detect inauthentic product by collecting pulse echo images of components, penetrating blacktopping to expose markings, and detecting voids, cracks, and delaminations.
“Keeping counterfeit components out of the global supply chain and providing only top-quality product and service are continually at the forefront of our global procedures,” said Art Figueroa, Smith’s Vice President of Global Operations. These procedures are supported by the strong foundation of the SmithSecure quality framework, which combines Smith’s twenty-nine years of experience and knowledge with best practices across the industry to meet customers’ demanding standards.
“Our industry-leading testing labs and procedures and our expert personnel are vital to our global quality program’s success,” said Figueroa, “And this new accreditation recognizes their high caliber. From the management and organization of our quality and technical operations to our competence to provide the expert testing our customers require, our Hong Kong quality laboratory has now been recognized alongside our global headquarters for providing exemplary accuracy, reliability, and repeatability. We will continually focus on the highest quality standards and constant improvement, at each of our locations and in every one of our processes.”
About Smith & Associates
Founded in Houston in 1984, Smith & Associates is a leader in the independent distribution of semiconductors and electronic components to electronics and high-tech manufacturers. Smith offers shortage sourcing for commodity and obsolete parts, innovative purchasing and inventory management solutions, redistribution of excess inventory, and component stocking for warranty and repair programs.
A privately-held company, Smith & Associates employs more than 350 people worldwide, with annual revenue in excess of US $450 million. Smith's regional hubs in Houston, Hong Kong, and Amsterdam are ISO certified. In addition, sales and purchasing offices are located in Austin, Silicon Valley, Guadalajara, New York, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, and Denver. For more information, see http://www.smithweb.com/ or, to reach a Smith representative 24 hours a day, please call: 1.800.HOUSTON or +1 713.430.3000.
For more information, contact:
Mark Bollinger
Smith & Associates, V.P. of Marketing
+1 713.430.3000
mbollinger[at]nfsmith[dot]com
Mark Bollinger, V.P. of Marketing, Smith & Associates, http://www.smithweb.com, +1 713.430.3000, [email protected]
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