Quality

Our aim towards customer satisfaction is based on the concept of total quality.

AS has the Initial Assessment granted by the German KBA (Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt) in accordance with the requirements of the EC Directives 98/77 and 2002/80, and regulation R103.

AS is in possession of the Conformity of Production Certification, which is verified with a normal frequency through a technical audit carried out by the IDIADA, which is one of the two official laboratories existing in Spain and among of the few in Europe that are authorised officially for approvals in compliance with the European standards.

Therefore, AS has implanted a management quality system according to the UNE-EN ISO 9001:2000.

AS, as the manufacturer of catalysts identified with their trademark and approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology, CERTIFIES according to Regulation 1400/2002 of the European Commission, that its catalysts are SPARE PARTS WITH QUALITY EQUIVALENT to that of the original components.

The individual components of our products are of the highest quality, from the ceramic substrata (also approved in accordance with the strict American standards EPA and CARB with levels of efficiency that are well above those required in these standards) to the stainless steel used not only for the shells for casing the ceramic substrata, but also for all the inlet and outlet pipes of our catalytic converters.

Our ceramic substrata are designed to enable the passage of the greatest possible amount of gas flow, thus creating a minimum back-pressure in the system, at the same time as it offers a maximum active gas exposure surface area.

The method of impregnation of the layer to which the catalytic elements are incorporated (combination of Platinum, Palladium and Rhodium, depending on the applications required) and the composition of the impregnation layer itself is what makes it possible to obtain, under strict control of the specifications, the physicochemical characteristics that give our products a exceptional quality in terms of chemical durability.

All the above, together with the experience accumulated over the years AS has been involved in the design and development of exhaust systems, enables us to offer a guarantee for our products, without any limitation in terms of kilometres given their exceptional quality , although for obvious reasons there does exist a time constraint.

Range

It can be seen in our Catalogue section that our product offer is not based on drawings or diagrams, filling up pages and pages with applications that are later found to be unavailable in the Warehouse; rather, they are presented through digital photographs of the real catalytic converter, with the characteristic AS design. That is, our Catalogue presents a fully existing range, developed and physically available, to offer an enviable service. At present, our Catalogue offers 1.001 catalytic converter part nos. to the market, all approved and available, giving service to over 2.800 different petrol and diesel vehicle applications.

Referring in overall terms to the European Union market, in which the catalytic converter has been used in petrol engines since 1993 and to diesel vehicles since 1996 (although in countries such as Germany the incorporation took place prior to these dates) and considering that vehicles of under two years old should not be considered within the fleet likely to require replacements, our excellent Range covers the applications that, in the Paretto diagram of replacement by volume in the EU represent over 80% of this volume.

Our mission as a reference and avant-garde for Independent Distribution commits us to continuous development in the extension of the range, which is translated, thanks to our Technical and Product departments, into the incorporation of new references equivalent to over 300 new applications annually, with which our coverage of the fleet will continue to increase in the future.

Approvals

The problem of exhaust gases generated by motor vehicles has been controlled and legislated in Europe, mainly by the European Community Directive 70/220/EC and its subsequent modifications.

AS, S.L., as a leading company in Europe in the manufacture of replacement catalytic converters for the independent aftermarket, manufactures all its products in compliance with the current legislation.

All the catalytic converters manufactured and marketed by AS, S.L. have been approved individually for each of our part nos. by the Ministry of Science and Technology (former Ministry of Industry and Energy - MINER) after the applicable tests and trials carried out in IDIADA in order to comply with the existing European Standards relating to the emission of gases, noise, back-pressure (power loss), durability …

AS, S.L. has all its products approved in compliance with the Directives 98/77/EC and 2002/80 EC, and United Nations Regulation R-103