I do know that a company I worked for that required a LOT of printing required its printers to be ISO 9001 certified.ISO 9001:2000 combines the three standards 9001, 9002, and 9003 into one, now called 9001. Design and development procedures are required only if a company does in fact engage in the creation of new products. The 2000 version sought to make a radical change in thinking by actually placing the concept of process management front and centre. ("Process management" was the monitoring and optimizing of a company's tasks and activities, instead of just inspecting the final product.) The 2000 version also demands involvement by upper executives, in order to integrate quality into the business system and avoid delegation of quality functions to junior administrators. Another goal is to improve effectiveness via process performance metrics — numerical measurement of the effectiveness of tasks and activities. Expectations of continual process improvement and tracking customer satisfaction were made explicit.
I don't know that this certification accounts for the (for me) high quality of the Treet blades (all the various types---Blue Special, Dura Sharp carbon Steel, Dura Sharp Stainless, and Platinum---that I have so far tried have been quite good), but it no doubt contributes. Specifically, the continual process improvement is a very good idea.
Does anyone know anything about ISO 9001 certification of any other blade manufacturers? Just curious. I do know that our membership includes quite a few engineers who probably know a lot more about this stuff.