Mumbai: Tata Steel has bagged the prestigious Deming Application Prize-2008 for Total Quality Management (TQM), a company official said here Tuesday.

The Deming Prize Committee, instituted by the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers, Tuesday announced the award - first for any integrated steel company outside Japan. It will be formally handed over at a ceremony scheduled in Tokyo Nov 12.

Tata Steel Managing director B. Muthuraman dedicated the honour to the employees of the company, its customers and business partners, who have been part of the TQM journey initiated in 1988.

"No other activities made us think so deeply about our business and relationships than the process of applying for the Deming Prize. It is a fundamental way of managing business and every organisation can gain from institutionalising the culture necessary to win this prize," Muthuram observed.

Established in 1950 in honour of W. Edwards Deming, the Deming Prize was originally designed to reward Japanese companies for major advances in quality improvement.

So far, 160 companies worldwide have won the prize, including 15 Indian companies from the automotive sector.