For Immediate Release

For more information contact:
Steve Kratzer
Marketing and Business Development Representative
steve.kratzer@optimabus.com
316-779-7700 ext. 344

Optima Bus Corporation announces ISO 9001:2000 certification

Designation proves processes, products and post-delivery services are world-class

Wichita, KS – February 26, 2004 – Optima Bus Corporation CEO Michael Monteferrante announced today that the company has successfully undergone the rigorous examination process by representatives of the "International Organization for Standardization" (ISO), and has earned the designation ISO 9001: 2000 certified.

"We are all extremely proud that Optima has earned ISO 9001: 2000 certification," says Monteferrante. "To be among the elite handful of U.S. companies who are ISO certified authenticates in a measurable and standardized way that Optima is committed to the most rigorous standards of excellence in everything we do. It also formalizes the fact that we are equally committed to the continuous improvement of our processes and our products."

Monteferrante says the fast-track ISO certification process required enormous dedication company wide. "Every person on the Optima team deserves credit as the process required a tremendous effort from everyone. Team members in every discipline of the company met regularly to identify each process essential to delivering not just high quality, state-of-the-art buses," says Monteferrante, "but to identify how to deliver total customer satisfaction - and how to deliver it consistently."

Optima Bus Corporation Quality Assurance Manager Paul L. Parks spearheaded the company-wide certification process. "Optima’s ISO 9001: 2000 certification communicates to our suppliers and our customers that from first contact through post delivery follow-up and support activities, Optima processes adhere to a quality standard recognized throughout the industry," says Parks.

"The ISO certification verifies that we have identified, analyzed and formalized factors and processes that add to the delivery of customer satisfaction," he explains. "A company that has earned the right to display the ISO insignia on its flagpole is telling the industry that its people not only deliver a quality product, but they go the extra mile to make sure the product fulfills the customer’s needs."

Click here to view the ISO 9001:2000 Certification. (40k pdf)