General Electric Co. became one of industry's most ardent and best-known practitioners of Six Sigma quality methodologies under former Chairman Jack Welch.

Customer service is key when looking to gain and maintain customers. If a company fails to provide the customer service a client feels he or she deserves, the client will seek business elsewhere.

Newport Corp. (Irvine, CA) has announced that it intends to sell the majority of its Industrial Metrology Systems Div. The division will be sold in two transactions to separate buyers.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has released a new version of ISO/TS 16949, a quality management standard aimed at the international automotive sector.

While it is not known exactly how many companies have begun the upgrade to ISO 9001: 2000, ISO Management Systems, a journal published by the International Organization for Standardization, sponsored a special report, "Feedback on ISO 9000: 2000 -- Worldwide Round-Up of Early Market Reactions."

Boeing (Chicago) delivered the wings for the first F-22 production aircraft to Lockheed Martin (Bethesda, MD) ahead of schedule.

Harold Krivan, senior partner with J.D. Power & Associates (Westlake Village, CA), will be the keynote speaker at Quality Expo Detroit on June 12. Krivan's address, "Quality: More Important Than Ever," will look at quality from the customer's viewpoint.

A survey of members of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) forecasts that after four consecutive quarters of decline in capital spending, gradual recovery will begin the first half of this year and continue into the second half.

The Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing has announced the recipients of its 14th annual business awards.

Meyer Gage (South Windsor, CT) has achieved ISO 9002 certification.