Tokyo (November 21, 2001)- In August of this year, The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.'s domestic Tire Group obtained the certification under the QS9000, a set of quality management standards required by the Big Three car manufacturers in the United States. The certification covers the design, development, sales, distribution and business management for Yokohama tires that are manufactured at the company's Shinshiro and Mishima plants for use with passenger cars and light trucks.

The domestic Tire Group obtained the certification under the ISO9001 series of international quality management standards in August 1995, and its all tire plants (Shinshiro, Onomichi, Mishima and Mie) became certified by February 1996. The ISO9001 was also given to the Salem Plant of Yokohama Tire Corporation, a US-based subsidiary of Yokohama Rubber, in November 1999. In addition, Yokohama Tire Philippines, Inc., another subsidiary, was certified under the ISO9002 in March 1999.

The addition of the QS9000 this time is for the purpose of upgrading ISO-based quality management skills of the Group and perfectly meeting the quality requirements from car manufacturers that are going forward with global procurement strategies.

Some non-tire subsidiaries of Yokohama Rubber are already certified under the QS9000. They are: SAS Rubber Company, which manufactures automotive hoses, since March 1999; Yokohama Hydex Co., which manufactures hydraulic hose couplings and assembles them with hoses, since June 1999; Yokohama Rubber (Thailand) Co., Ltd., which manufactures sealants for automotive windshields and assembles hydraulic hoses, since December 1999; YH America, Inc., which manufactures hydraulic hose couplings and assembles them with hoses, since July 2000.

General Motors, Ford Motor and DaimlerChrysler request their original equipment suppliers to meet the QS9000 series of quality management standards customized specifically for the automotive industry with more detailed standards for products and technical contents than those defined in the ISO series. The requirements under the QS9000 series include the Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP), which stipulates step-by-step submission of detailed plans for new product development, and the Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA), which requests suppliers to develop countermeasures for all predictable failures that may occur during design and production processes.