Columbian Chemicals Joint Venture Wins Hungarian Quality Award.

Columbian Tiszai Carbon, a Hungarian-based joint venture of Columbian Chemicals Company and Tiszai Vegyi Kombinat Rt., won the Hungarian National Quality Prize in the Small-Company Category in November.

"This award is further evidence that providing our customers with the highest-quality carbon blacks is our primary focus," said Jack Walsh, president of Columbian Chemicals.

Carbon black is an engineered compound that improves the strength, durability and overall performance of a range of products including tires and other mechanical rubber goods, printing inks, paints and plastics.

"CTC's achievement is especially notable because we received the award on our first try," said LszlU Nagy, general manager of Columbian Tiszai Carbon.

"For the past six years, CTC's staff has worked to satisfy our customers at the highest possible level. Winning the National Quality Prize symbolizes our commitment to our customers."

The Hungarian National Quality Prize Nov. 12 was presented to plant and company executives at a ceremony held in the Cupola Hall of the Hungarian Parliament. Hungary's National Quality Prize was founded in 1996 to recognize the achievements of companies in four categories: small, medium and large manufacturing companies, and service companies.

"CTC hopes to build on this success by winning the European Quality Award," Mr. Nagy said. That prize was created by the European Foundation for Quality Management and it formed the basis for the Hungarian Quality Prize. Winners of the European Quality Award for the year 2000 will be announced in late September.

The plant, located in Tisza jv ros in northeastern Hungary, was built by Columbian in 1993 and is the newest carbon black facility in Europe. A majority of CTC's production goes to meet the needs of customers in Western Europe.

Columbian Chemicals, based in Marietta, Ga., is a subsidiary of Phelps Dodge Corporation. Columbian Chemicals is one of the world's largest producers of carbon black, with holdings in the United States, Brazil, Canada, England, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Korea and Spain.