LAWRENCE, KS - Kinedyne Corporation, a manufacturer of cargo control products, is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the opening of its Lawrence, KS facility. In the spring of 1990, soon after it was acquired by the company along with other assets of the Cargo Control Division of Aeroquip Corporation, the site launched warehouse operations. Now, after more than two decades, employees in Lawrence can look back with pride on the operation and their contribution to the company's overall growth.

Once devoted exclusively to warehousing the company's cargo control products, the facility now has the capacity to sew and fabricate many of Kinedyne's most popular products, including strap assemblies and cargo nets. The site has evolved into a major hub for many of the company's complex operations, from global purchasing, logistics and human resources to a fully-staffed call center and a comprehensive quality control and testing lab.

"Since our manufacturing lines started rolling back in 1990, we've focused on insuring excellence in everything we do - from our production to our employees to the finished product," explains Steve Atzeni, Vice President of Operations for North America, who is based at the Lawrence plant. "This commitment to quality is deeply ingrained in our entire team. In fact, a large number of our employees at the Lawrence plant have been with us since the day we acquired the facility."

The facility - which achieved the ISO 9001:2000 certification of its Quality Management System (QMS) in 2008 - is Kinedyne's first facility in the U.S. to receive this internationally recognized quality management certification. The plant also serves as the company's primary site for the production of load securement equipment used by the U.S. military.

As a major employer in the area, the Lawrence plant has become a fixture in the surrounding community by providing jobs to local residents and developing partnerships with local businesses. Kinedyne was recently honored for one aspect of its community work by the National Institute for the Severely Handicapped (NISH), a nonprofit agency whose mission is creating employment opportunities for people with disabilities. During a recent national conference, Atzeni accepted the "Small Business Partnership Award" from NISH - on behalf of Kinedyne - for the company's work with Community Rehabilitation Programs (CRPs). The Lawrence facility supports several CRPs and their efforts to fulfill U.S. Government contracts by helping them earn a designation of "qualified" suppliers of cargo restraint equipment.