Warrenville, IL -- (SBWire) -- 04/11/2011 -- Marvin Dunham, General Manager and Mel Chapman, Quality Assurance Manager at Plymouth Tube’s Salisbury, Maryland Mill was honored to present at NASA’s March 16-17 Quality Leadership Forum. The presentation consisted of the quality self-disclosure issue Plymouth Tube Salisbury experienced in 2008 and the recovery and continuous improvement efforts that followed at Salisbury. In 2008, the new management team at the Salisbury Mill discovered that certain testing of stainless steel tubing to aerospace specifications had either not occurred or was performed incorrectly, and that mill test reports had been sent to customers falsely stating compliance to expected testing. As a Plymouth Tube Salisbury customer, NASA’s White Sands Test Facility asked Dunham and Chapman to speak at the Quality Leadership Forum regarding Salisbury’s journey; specifically, how they were able to successfully overcome concerns, ensure proper testing, and continuously evolve their quality and production systems.

At the NASA Quality Leadership Forum, Dunham and Chapman discussed how Plymouth notified customers, trained technicians and were able to start testing tubes returned from customers within 30 days and how Production continually collaborates with QA to assure that customer expectations are exceeded. The Salisbury team also fully cooperated with audits performed by aerospace OEM customers and federal agencies including NASA, FAA, and DOD. Now, Salisbury’s Plymouth Tube Company Aerospace Tubing (PTCA) meets industry and customer specifications. The Salisbury Mill specializes in high quality, stainless, small diameter, seamless and drawn PTCA tubing.

“It was an honor to be invited by NASA to talk about our quality solution. It really shows that they know what steps we took to correct the situation to provide quality tubing,” says Mel Chapman, Quality Assurance Manager for Salisbury. Since the initial improvements, the Mill has made a commitment with the PTCA campaign to make sure all of their products are manufactured in accordance with the Nadcap Heat Treatment accreditation by demonstrating their ongoing commitment to quality by satisfying customer requirements and industry specifications. As of date, Salisbury is the only North American stainless steel tube mill to have Nadcap Heat Treatment certification, with 2011 marking their 2nd year in a row with this difficult achievement.

Plymouth Tube Salisbury’s was happy to share at the NASA Quality Leadership Forum that their decision for self-disclosure aligned with their mission statement and values which emphasizes a focus on employees, customers, the environment, and community; all the while remaining committed to providing products and services that meet or exceed customer expectations. Salisbury is pleased to supply customers with quality aerospace tubing so that they can “Fly with Integrity.” Specifying PTCA Tubing ensures a quality product, excellent customer service and appropriate testing requirements are met.

About Plymouth Tube Co.
Since 1924, Plymouth Tube Co. has served the steel tubing industry with continued manufacturing excellence practices and technical expertise that promote industrial partnerships with many customers. Currently headquartered in suburban Chicago with 11 manufacturing mills across the U.S., Plymouth is a global supplier of specialty carbon alloy, nickel alloy, and stainless steel tubing for mechanical, pressure, boiler, and hydraulic applications. Steel, nickel and titanium extruded and cold drawn shapes are produced by Plymouth Engineered Shapes. Plymouth remains positioned for continued global growth by supplying quality products to a variety of markets. www.plymouth.com