Battery maker Trimitra gets ISO 9001 award
JAKARTA (JP): Car battery manufacturer PT Trimitra Baterai Prakasa, a subsidiary of Gemala Group, received yesterday ISO 9001 certification for quality management design from Germany's TUV Rheinland in Jakarta.
The certificate was presented by Felix Herjink, TUV Rheinland's Indonesian representative, to the Director General of Basic Metal, Machineries and Chemical Industries, Effendi Sudarsono, who in turn handed it to Trimitra president, Wandi Wanandi.
The presentation ceremony was at Trimitra's plant in Semper, North Jakarta.
Trimitra, a joint venture with Japan's Yuasa Corp, produces all types of car battery and is billed as the most complete battery plant in Southeast Asia.
The company exports 93 percent of its products under the brand name G-Force to 14 countries including Germany, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Japan, Australia and Kenya.
Wandi, a son of Gemala Group's chief commissioner Sofjan Wanandi, said the award was due to the company's hard work to maintain quality and boost its competitiveness globally.
"The management proclaimed the implementation of ISO 9001 in September. Within 10 months, all employees, with full support from top management, completed all ISO 9001 stipulations, including procedures, training and systems implementation," Wandi said.
The award was announced June 13 after auditing by a team from TUV Rheiland.
The company was established in 1991, then called PT Gemala Battery, with a production capacity of 500,000 batteries a year. Since 1993, its capacity has increased to 1.5 million batteries.
The company changed to its present name in April with the entry of Yuasa Corp.
Sofjan Wanandi later said that exporters, including Trimitra, still found many bureaucratic obstacles affected their competitiveness.
"For example, this battery plant was built in Semper, near Tanjung Priok Harbor, with the intention of lowering transportation cost. But it doesn't make any sense because there are too many levies that raise the overall cost," Sofjan said. (08)