FOREST-BASED INDUSTRIES GET DOST SUPPORT

THE country’s furniture, pulp and paper, and plywood industries have found a partner in their bid to make it in the world market - the FTL or the FPRDI Testing Laboratories of the Department of Science and Technology-Forest Products Research and Development Institute (DOST-FPRDI).

Organization for Standardization ( ISO) through the Philippine Accreditation Bureau, the three laboratories— one each for furniture, pulp and paper, and plywood— have conducted 1,394 tests for 515 customers last year, and earned about P4.07 million.

According to the FTL Quality Manager Adela Torres, “Having their products tested by an ISO that they get consistently valid results, and gives them the credibility they need to access new markets overseas, maintain their presence in old markets, and meet the demands of certain government agencies.”

Customers who had their products assessed by an ISOcertified lab no longer need to have them re- tested since the standards used by these facilities are globally recognized. This saves time and money for exporters.

“One of the FTLs’ long-time clients is the government’s Department of Budget and Management’s Procurement Service [PS],” Torres said. “The service requires all its suppliers to submit samples of their paper products to DOST-FPRDI. Only those companies that pass the tests will qualify for public bidding. This centralized and direct purchase by the PS saves the government about 30 percent in the cost of its paper supplies.”

For furniture products, only can take part in the public bidding process of the Department of Education.

The FTLs are ran under the DOST’s OneLab project, a platform that gives broader and more efficient public access to all of the department’s testing services.

DOST-FPRDI also offers wood and mechanical, and bio-energy testing services for forest-based and related products, and is currently working for the eventual ISO-accreditation of these.