Chand: Plans to reduce cost, increase capacity
Certification success boosts export plans
Rotomould (Fiji) Limited has plans to expand Fijian operation with investment in a new and modern machine which will reduce production cost and increase the capacity.
It will also give them flexibility to produce many other intricate products for export market. This was highlighted by the Rotomould Group of Companies managing director Prakash Chand after getting two accreditations.
These accreditations include, the ISO 9001:2008 for the company and AS/NZS 4766 certification for polyethylene water tanks sold under the brand name of “rota tanks”.
AS/NZS4766 Accreditation means rota tanks meets world class standard for polyethylene water tanks. “This raises the standard of our product and profile of our company at the level of Australia and New Zealand companies involved in similar business,” Mr Chand said. “It is a great achievement for the company and the employees as our product meets the quality standard for Australia and NZ for polyethylene water tanks. “People of Fiji are assured that money spent on our product is money well spent as the tank will last its warranty life and the drinking water stored is safe for human consumption.” Mr Chand said with this certification their chance for contract manufacturing of freight friendly products for Australia and New Zealand companies had increased many folds. Before, he said they were wary of giving contract manufacturing because they were always worried about standard and quality. “This opportunity will bring immense benefit to the company in particular and the Fijian economy in general,” he said. Mr Chand said it’s all well and good that a tank gets certification when it is going through the testing process. However, people need to know that when their tank is made, quality processes will be maintained to ensure their actual tank complies.
“This is where the International standard, ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management Systems, comes into play,” he reiterated. “It provides you with assurance that the manufacturer has quality processes in place that will reliably produce the same quality product each and every time.
“As a finite resource, water has to be valued more significantly. According to Mr Chand, a little over $7.5 million has been allocated to rural water supply programmes which cater for the installation of water storage systems to help supply clean drinking water to the rural population. He said the Fijian government has financed these projects because water is the single most precious building block to development.
“We cannot sustain life without it; we cannot sustain communities without it. But when communities have ample water, they thrive,” Mr Chand said. The Association of Rotational Moulders Australasia (ARMA) chief executive Leisa Donlan said it is important to note, not every manufacturer chooses to certify their products. “For a polyethylene tank manufacturer to receive certification for AS/NZS 4766, tanks are put through a rigid set of tests to ensure that they comply,”she added. Also the Fijian Government had praised Rotomould (Fiji) for successfully completing all requirements for the certification at the hand over in Lautoka on Thursday.
Minister for Agriculture Inia Seruiratu said: “It is hearting to note that our ‘Fijian made’ water tanks are being used in a wide range of applications Pacific wide.
“This latest achievement is also potent signal of the renewed confidence that local investors have in the new Fiji we are all forging together, along with our ambition to give the best to our people.”
About Rotomould (Fiji) Ltd
It is a Lautoka-based locally owned company which manufactures polyethylene water tanks under the brand name of Rota Tanks in sizes ranging from 300 litres to 10,200 litres capacities using rotational moulding technology.
This is the latest technology in the water tank manufacturing process widely used in the developed nations of the world. Established in 2000, RFL was one of the first companies to introduce rotational moulding technology in Fiji and the Pacific through its 6 subsidiary companies in Tonga, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, and Vanuatu, and in East Timor.