FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

America II first component distributor to receive S20.20 certification

St. Petersburg, Fla. April 8, 2002 - America II Electronics, Inc. has received ANSI/ESD-S20.20 certification, defined by the Electrostatic Discharge Association (ESDA) as the standard for developing an ESD control program for the protection of electrical and electronic parts, assemblies, and equipment. America II is the first component distributor worldwide to receive the certification, including both independent and franchised distributors.

America II believes the standard is vital to the electronics industry because it addresses practices within the supply chain that can affect part performance. "Electronic component factories are already at all-time lows in acceptable quality levels (AQL) of two to three parts per million. What they can't control is how the parts are handled during distribution and manufacturing. The S20.20 spec will clearly define these missing parts of the equation," explained America II President Jim Magee. Based on the fundamental ESD control principles of grounding environmental conductors, neutralizing charges on non-conductive items in the environment, and transporting sensitive items in enclosed static protective materials, S20.20 defines requirements for grounding and bonding systems, protected areas, packaging, handling, and testing. "We were about 70% there," said America II Quality Assurance Manager Suzanne Fitzmaurice of the distributor's readiness prior to entering the certification process one year ago. "Most [of the standard] was existing practice at America II. The certification process helped us formalize these procedures by putting them in writing," Fitzmaurice explained.

America II's ESD control program now documents everything from how equipment is calibrated to how its facilities are audited. In addition, America II expanded its staff training and continuous process monitoring system through the S20.20 certification process. Now, any America II employee who possesses the opportunity to handle parts (from warehouse and quality personnel to members of the distributor's excess purchasing, sales, and executive teams) undergoes ESD control training. America II's enhanced continuous process monitoring system outlines specific monitoring tasks, including inspections of its equipment and physical plant, to be conducted on a weekly and monthly basis.

America II began laying the foundation for its certification in 1995 by equipping its then 30,000 square feet of warehousing with $50,000 in ESD controls including Faraday bins, work station mats, grounding systems, testing equipment, and static bags. (Since then, America II has invested an additional $630,000.00 in ESD control equipment including $250,000.00 toward the electrostatic dissipative epoxy-sealed floor of its 156,000-square foot warehousing and logistics center added in April 2000.) "Back [in 1995] we were starting to see our manufacturers and larger clients use [ESD controls] and we knew we had to put our own program in place in order to protect the product," recalled Margie Kreisle, America II Administrative and Quality Supervisor. At the time, ESD certification did not exist, but America II enlisted an independent auditing firm to evaluate its ESD control program against ESDA standards.

While America II's program proved ESD compliant, the distributor continued to search for a means of ESD certification. When the ESDA teamed with the National Association of Radio and Telecommunications Engineers to offer ESD certification to individuals, America II appointed Kreisle for examination and approval by the board. In September 2000, Kreisle became the first NARTE-certified ESD Technician to be employed by an independent distributor. It was at the time of Kreisle's certification exam at the 2000 EOS/ESD Symposium when she heard the buzz about S20.20. "I immediately knew [S20.20 certification] was the direction we needed to take. As soon as I returned to work, I got my team on board with the idea and asked our ISO auditor to become a certifying house for the new standard," Kreisle recounted.

While S20.20 audits must be overseen by ISO 9000 registrar companies and are designed to follow annual ISO audits, S20.20 certification is a separate process and distinction. "ISO certification only calls for a company to identify its process and agree to continually improve this process. There are specific areas that need to be addressed according to ISO, but the ISO standard does not define how these areas are to be addressed. In contrast, S20.20 specifically defines, and provides for the certification and audit of, the handling of ESD-sensitive material by any facility where electronic components that could be affected by ESD are handled," explained Magee.

It is this distinction that leads America II to believe that S20.20 certification will become as vital to vendor selection as ISO certification has been in the past. "Today, you must be ISO-certified to qualify for most OEMs' and CEMs' approved vendor lists. We foresee S20.20 certification proving just as integral because it takes ISO a step further - by universally defining the standards ISO sets forth. In 1994, America II ignited the trend toward quality and standards in independent distribution as we know them today by becoming the first independent to achieve ISO 9002 certification. Now, we are the first component distributor worldwide, including franchised and independent distributors, to achieve S20.20 certification. We are raising the bar and asking our peers to follow because, as an integral part of the supply chain, we refuse to compromise the quality standards that our customers expect and that are upheld by other members of the supply chain," said America II CEO Mike Galinski.

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