PARK RIDGE, N.J. -- Several branch locations of the Hertz Equipment Rental Corporation have received the International Organization for Standardization's (ISO) ISO9001:2000 certification for quality management practices. As a result, Hertz Equipment Rental has also received Ford Motor Company's Q1 Preferred Quality award.

Recipients of ISO certification are Hertz Equipment Rental's Midwest branches in Wixom, Sterling Heights and Detroit in Michigan; Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati in Ohio; Indianapolis, Ind. and the North Central Zone office in Michigan. "Hertz Equipment Rental has been committed to aligning its management practices with customer satisfaction objectives, and the ISO9001 system is an industry standard that provides a benchmark for quality and service," said Gerry Plescia, president of Hertz Equipment Rental Corp.

ISO9001:2000 certification requires a participating company to have systematic approaches to identifying and managing numerous inter-dependent business processes within the organization. The ISO9000 family of standards represents an international consensus on good management practices to help ensure high-quality products and services.

Ford's Q1 Preferred Quality Award recognizes supplier facilities and organizations whose quality systems meet stringent Ford requirements. Hertz Equipment Rental locations earned the award because they achieved ISO certification and met Ford's quality operating system criteria.