21 March 2012

Soitec earns new certifications for global quality, safety and environment management systems

Soitec of Bernin, France, which makes engineered substrates - including silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers and III-V epiwafers - as well as concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) solar systems, has earned new certifications from the International Standards Organization (ISO) and the Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS).
With a customer base spanning global microelectronics and energy firms on five continents, all of Soitec’s operational sites worldwide – including its semiconductor material and solar module factories in France, Germany and Singapore − now meet ISO quality and environmental requirements.

As a result of the most recent audit conducted at the end of 2011, LRQA (Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance) has awarded:

• ISO/TS 16949 certification to Soitec’s semiconductor material operations in France at its Bernin and Paris Sud facilities (both of which demonstrated full compliance on their initial audits). The firm’s Singapore factory also achieved this compliance, so Soitec will now use the ISO/TS 16949 standard – which is more specific and stringent than ISO 9001 – as the basis of its worldwide quality-management system.
• ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certification to Soitec’s solar facility in Freiburg, Germany (where it manufactures its CPV systems).
• OHSAS 18001 health and safety certification to Soitec’s Paris Sud facilities. Hence, all of the firm’s semiconductor material operations are now in compliance with OHSAS 18001. Soitec is now working to extend these protocols to its solar module facility in Freiburg by the end of 2012.

“Our fully integrated quality, safety, health and environmental management system is focused on ensuring the superior quality and reliability of our products as well as maintaining our best practices to deliver the highest levels of customer satisfaction,” says chief operating officer Paul Boudre.

Soitec’s newest manufacturing plant in San Diego, CA is currently being refitted to produce CPV modules for the US renewable-energy market. This facility aims to gain ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications next year and OHSAS 18001 compliance by 2014.

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