FRANCISTOWN: Matsiloje Portland Cement (MPC) was last week awarded the Botswana Bureau of Standards (BOBS) certificate for producing quality cement that meets set requirements.
The company, which started manufacturing cement in 2009, began with production of 65 tons of cement per day and currently produces 100 tons per day.
Speaking before certification, the Quality Manager of MPC, Janette Maredza, said the quest for quality began last year and it took almost 18 months to get the quality system running.
“In order to achieve this we started running quality training programs that specified each and every process in the factory. We wrote work instructions that explained how to operate each and every machine here.”
She said when they set up, many people were skeptical saying that they will not succeed because Botswana relies mostly on imported goods.
Handing over the certificate, Managing Director of BOBS, Masego Marobela, said it was a departure from the BOS 9001: 2008 quality management systems requirements certificate that was awarded to other companies in the recent past.
“We welcome MPC into our family of 15 BOBS standards mark licensed companies that hold 34 licenses relating to 34 product lines, mainly in the construction and building industry,” she said.
Marobela said commitment and ownership from top management made the company to get accreditation quickly. “MPC has joined organizations that have demonstrated full commitment to providing quality products that consistently conform to requirements specified in products standards,” she said. It was also proof that the company did not accidentally achieve quality, “for quality isn’t achieved by accident, but planned into an organization’s processes,” she said.
Marobela said MPC would have the privilege of marking its certified products with the standards mark, as well as using it for publicity and advertising it as indicated in the BOBS standard mark scheme.
She urged the company to ensure compliance with the licensing agreement to maintain its status.
“We are going to make sure that you do that by monitoring and market surveillance at all times,” said Marobela.
The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dorcus Makgatho-Malesu, applauded MPC saying that such progress results in the recognition of local companies.
“MPC together with its shareholders comprised a mixture of both private and institutional investors, notably the Botswana Development Corporation; it will start to fully enjoy all the benefits in the construction industry.” MPC will provide a major raw material in the construction industry and will serve as a major stimulant of economic growth for the country as a whole, the Minister said.
Determination and perseverance achieved this, because getting accreditation is demanding and can sometimes be discouraging when tensions arise from failure to instantly comply with requirements, Makgatho-Malesu said...
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