The “Italian Association for the Culture of Quality” – AICQ – is the main non-profit organization operating in Italy in the field of quality. AICQ CentroNord is the largest of the eight Territorial Associations that constitute AICQ and that, all together, represent and cover the entire Italian territory. AICQ CentroNord is an independent, impartial and “free” organization, whose mission is to promote the culture of quality. Specifically, the mission of AICQ CentroNord is to promote, encourage and implement the study of principles and the application of technical and organizational methodologies for improving the quality of products, services and related disciplines. This includes (but not limited to) “Quality”, “Environmental”, “Health and Safety” etc. Management Systems and the related human and technical factors. AICQ CentroNord includes among its members some of the most famous national  experts on quality. This is AICQ history in brief:

• AICQ was founded in 1955 by the will and determination of some experts, scholars, industrialists and technicians who, under the aegis of the National Productivity Committee, came together to promote the adoption of “quality control” methodologies in production processes.
• In 1956 AICQ participated in the establishment of the European Organization for Quality (EOQ) entity, as a founding member.
• In 1982, AICQ transitioned to the current organizational structure, made up of eight Territorial Associations. Among these, AICQ Centronord is the largest, with over 1500 members, of which over 400 companies (also known as Organizational members).
• In the first years of life, the main focus of AICQ was the promotion of quality principles and the adoption of “process control” methodologies.
• In the 1980s, with the introduction and formalization of Quality Management Systems, AICQ increased its competencies and training capabilities in this area, to respond to the strong interest and needs of its increasing number of members.
• In the following years, however, the increased focus in achieving the certification of a “Quality System” as the only relevant goal for an organization (instead of being just one of the tools to promote and drive quality in an organization), required a stronger effort by AICQ to clarify that the good intentions behind standards like ISO 9001 were not misinterpreted.

Today, the commitment of AICQ CentroNord and the other Territorial Associations is stronger than ever, with the ultimate goal of promoting a true culture of quality, respectful and guarantor of all the values ​​it represents and ultimately intended as the ability for a company to compete on the market and not just to achieve a certification.