Elcoteq Americas Awards Seven New Black Belts in Six Sigma Quality at Its Monterrey Mexico Facility.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

IRVING, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 8, 2003

Elcoteq Americas announced that seven new Black Belts in Six Sigma Quality have been awarded to Elcoteq employees at Elcoteq's Monterrey, Mexico facility. Diplomas were presented by Elcoteq Network Corporation President and CEO Lasse Kurkilahti at a Business Unit Staff Meeting on April 9, 2003. Those receiving black belts were Mayra Quiroga, Jorge Gonzalez, Juan Rodriguez, Enrique San Vicente, Daniel Hernandez, Mauricio Lopez, and Ramon Mendez. The goal of Six Sigma is to reduce variation and ensure that internal processes are running at optimum efficiency.

"Quality is a key focus at Elcoteq," said Pablo Chapa, quality manager at Elcoteq Monterrey. "Six Sigma methodology is the driver for continual improvement. We have a proven track record of zero DPMs (defects per million) with a specific sub-assembly produced for one of our major customers between December 2001 and November 2002. We are very proud of the Six Sigma Black Belts and their dedication to reduce process variation."

Savings for 2001 and 2002 have averaged one million USD per year as result of the Six Sigma program being implemented in the Monterrey facility. The success that Elcoteq has had with the Master Black Belt program will lead to creation of Elcoteq's own black belt training center in Monterrey.

Elcoteq introduced its Six Sigma methodology globally in December 2000 with seventeen black belt candidates participating, four of whom were from the Monterrey facility. By April 2001, these initial black belt candidates were certified. The seven new black belts are part of the second wave of Elcoteq employees participating in the program. Globally, twenty-one employees, plus three master black belt candidates, entered the program. They were pre-selected based on the quality results and improvements achieved because of them. The training process began in April 2002 and finished in July 2002. By January 2003 the seven candidates were certified successfully. Elcoteq Monterrey plans to train a third wave of four to five black belts by September 2003. The current black belts have deployed the methodology in the plant/office to a group of 25 Champions, 61 Green Belts, and 40 Yellow Belts.

The Six Sigma training was conducted by Six Sigma Qualtec, based in Arizona. The goal of Six Sigma is to reduce process output variation so there is no more than +/- six standard deviations (Six Sigma) between the mean and the nearest specification limit. When a process is operating at Six Sigma, no more than 3.4 "defects" per million opportunities will be produced. Done properly, Six Sigma ensures that internal processes are running at optimum efficiency. Six Sigma Black Belts are the highly educated specialists who execute Six Sigma process improvement projects. All Six Sigma projects follow the structured, data-driven DMAIC process: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control.

Elcoteq's Monterrey plant was established in 1999 and has a production area of 18,300 m2 and approximately 550 employees who manufacture electronic and electro-mechanical assemblies. The Monterrey facility has ISO 9002, ISO 14001, QS 9000 and BS7799 (Information Security Management system) certificates. They presently have eleven black belts. For more information contact Pablo Chapa at telephone: [phone], e-mail: [e-mail].

About Elcoteq Network Corporation

Elcoteq Network Corporation is a global electronics manufacturing services (EMS) company that focuses on Communications Technology products. Elcoteq ranks among the world's leading EMS providers and is the largest European company in its field. Elcoteq provides end-to-end solutions consisting of design, NPI (new product introduction), manufacturing, supply chain management, and post-sales services for the whole lifecycle of its customers' products. The company operates on three continents in 12 countries and has over 10,000 employees. Elcoteq's consolidated net sales in 2002 totaled MEUR 1,840 (approximately 1.8 billion USD). Elcoteq Network Corporation is listed on the Helsinki Exchanges. For more information contact Bill Coker at 972/401-9995, e-mail [e-mail], or visit the Elcoteq website at www.elcoteq.com.