Today’s small and medium sized enterprizes (SME) are facing an increasing compe¬tition on the national and international market. To meet this competition, a continuous work with quality improvement and statistical methods constitutes a central activity that should be implemented. This has to be done in an environment often characterized by limited resources available, high work-load and by a work force where few, if any, employees are familiar with statistics. In this paper, questionnaires covering hundreds of SME are presented that support the assumption of poor utilization of statistical methods in manufacturing applications. In addition, two case companies are analyzed as a case-study and suggestions to increase the industrial use of statistical methods are presented. Several examples of collaboration between companies and universities are described. The use of company networks, facilitators, long-term training programs and computer aid are examples of activities identified as critical in a successful implementation strategy.