TI Semiconductor Group Earns Worldwide ISO 9001 Designation for Quality Standards

DALLAS (Nov. 4, 1996) - Texas Instruments (TI) Semiconductor Group (SCG) today announced it is the first major semiconductor manufacturer to gain ISO 9001 designation worldwide. This worldwide certification of TI's quality processes and standards will help TI's customers reduce their qualification cycle times and get their products to market faster.

"This enterprise-wide certification assures our customers that we have world-class quality standards," said Julie England, TI SCG Vice President and Quality Manager. "At the same time, it recognizes the outstanding teamwork and cooperation among semiconductor and groups over the years in establishing and enforcing those standards, thereby laying the foundation for worldwide ISO 9001 certification."

The worldwide ISO 9001 designation includes TI Semicondcutor Group's three business units, 25 sites in 14 countries and more than 25,000 employees. Previously, TI has been gaining ISO 9001 designation for each site independently. However, to maintain its status, each site submitted to an annual audit by third-party auditors, a task that was becoming a costly and unwieldy process. By gaining enterprise-wide ISO 9000 designation, TI will now be audited every six months at Semiconductor Group headquarters in Dallas, and each site will be audited once every 2-3 years.

"Our TI quality process already requires regular audits of every SCG operation," said England. "We believe that if our operations can successfully undergo one of our stringent internal quality audits on a regular basis, they are definitely in line with ISO 9001 requirements."

Established in 1985, TI's extensive quality efforts extend beyond ISO 9001 to encompass more than 20 quality system standards defining TI Semiconductor Group requirements and key methods of producing semiconductors. In 1994, TI developed TI-BEST, a company-initiated business-improvement process based on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award criteria. That company-wide program is reaching into new areas of the business such as marketing and finance, that never before have been required to define quality criteria, further improving TI's overall operations.TI's aggressive quality strategy has been recognized worldwide for its success. TI has won the Deming Prize, the European Quality Award and the first ever Singapore Quality Award. TI's Defense Systems Group won the Malcolm Baldrige Award in 1992.

ISO 9001 is a series of three international standards and guidelines on quality management and assurance that were first published in 1987 by the International Standards Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. The standards do not specify how a firm's quality processes must occur, but they do mandate that a company define appropriate quality standards, document its processes and prove that it consistently adheres to both. The standards require that a basic quality system be in place to ensure that the company has the capabilities and system to provide its customers with quality products and services.

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An industry pioneer and the world leader in digital signal processing solutions for more than 14 years, Texas Instruments Semiconductor Group provides innovative solutions to more than 20,000 customers worldwide in the computer, communications, consumer, automotive, military and industrial markets. TI is the first company to be recognized by IEEE for technical excellence in the design and applications of DSPs by receiving the 1996 IEEE Corporate Innovation Recognition Award. TI offers a unique breadth of digital and mixed-signal products and technologies, hardware and software development tools, design information services and global support.

The registrar for the ISO 9001 enterprise-wide registration is Det NorskeVeritas (DNV).