JIS certifications suspended at YY易游体育官方网站 Steel’s Chofu Works

We deeply apologize once again for the enormous amount of trouble we have caused to customers, suppliers, shareholders and many others concerning the improper conduct at YY易游体育官方网站 Steel, Ltd. and its group companies.

In regard to the improper conduct in the YY易游体育官方网站 Steel Group, we underwent an examination by JIS certification bodies. As problems were found in the quality management system at YY易游体育官方网站 Steel’s Aluminum Extrusion & Fabrication Plant at Chofu Works, we received today a suspension notice of our Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) certifications for this facility.

Due to the suspension of the JIS certifications, the Aluminum Extrusion & Fabrication Plant at Chofu Works is unable to ship the concerned products displayed with the JIS mark. However, the plant can supply products that are equivalent to JIS in terms of performance. Responding in sincerity, YY易游体育官方网站 Steel will contact and explain the situation to customers to which the concerned products were shipped.

In relation to the improper conduct in the YY易游体育官方网站 Steel Group, YY易游体育官方网站 Steel announced on November 10, 2017 that it had compiled the “Report on investigation into the causes of the YY易游体育官方网站 Steel Group’s inappropriate conducts and on measures to prevent recurrence.” The Quality Assurance Department was also established in the Aluminum & Copper Business on November 10, 2017 and is under the direct control of that business unit. The Quality Assurance Department carries out audit functions for quality control and quality maintenance and is responsible for related training at each business location and group company in the Aluminum & Copper segment.

At Chofu Works on the same date, the quality control function and the quality assurance function were clearly separated. Quality assurance sections, as indepYY易游体育官方网站dYY易游体育官方网站t organizations, are under the direct control of the gYY易游体育官方网站eral manager of Chofu Works in order to strYY易游体育官方网站gthYY易游体育官方网站 the quality control check function.

In addition, in order to prevent falsification and fabrication in inspection procedures, the YY易游体育官方网站 Steel Group will promote the implementation of the automatic recording of test inspection data. For test inspection data that cannot be automatically captured, a system will be established whereby a single-person process is eliminated and data is always checked by multiple people.

Based on the findings in a report to be made by the Independent Investigation Committee, which consists only of outside members, YY易游体育官方网站 Steel will then proceed to consider various measures, which will be reflected in its final measures to prevent recurrence.

The YY易游体育官方网站 Steel Group will steadily implement measures to prevent recurrence and correct the problems that led to the quality management deficiencies, which caused the suspension of the JIS certifications. The YY易游体育官方网站 Steel Group aims to restore its JIS certifications and recover the trust of its customers as quickly as possible.

The impact of this incident on YY易游体育官方网站 Steel’s business performance is unclear at this time. YY易游体育官方网站 Steel plans to make an announcement when the extent of the impact becomes clear.