FOR SUnday August 25

FOR SUnday August 25

;JP;HEN; ANPAc..r.. Aqua-ads-interview

------------------------------------------------------------------------- AQUA, Indonesia's leading bottled water company, will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year. The company has positioned itself as the driver of the bottled water industry in the country. And to retain this position, the company realizes the importance of maintaining consumer trust. PT AQUA Golden Mississippi Tbk president director Willy Sidharta shares his views on this issue. ----------------------------------------------------------------------

Q: There are numerous bottled water brands in the market, but consumers remain loyal to your brand. How do you maintain consumer trust?

A: Certainly it required a great deal of effort to introduce our brand (AQUA) when it was first produced 30 years ago. But even greater efforts are needed to maintain the trust of our customers. As our product has gained in popularity, our brand has become a promise. There is always a promise behind a strong and good brand. Consumers trust AQUA, and we always do our best to maintain that trust by continuously improving the quality of our product. And we are aware that good management is vital, so we have gone out and are working toward earning a number of certifications to ensure good management.

What certifications?

Among others are certifications of quality management (ISO), food safety (Health Analysis Critical Control Point -- HACCP), Good Manufacturing Practices -- GMP and environmental safety (ISO 14001). Most of our factories have achieved this certification; we are looking for completion in 2003. As for the standards of production, quality control and product quality, we refer to the Danone Quality Charter, which has more stringent standards than those applied in many countries

Could you give a concrete example of this?

For example, in the case of Indonesia, under the SNI (Indonesian National Standard), the total number of bacteria allowed in water produced for bottled water is 100 colonies per milliliter. While under the Danone regulations, the total number of bacteria should not exceed 20 colonies per milliliter. Indeed, the standard requirements are tighter than those set by the SNI. Also, in regard to particular chemical content, Indonesia has no standards, but under the Danone regulation we have to adopt standards.

What is the effect?

It guarantees the quality of our products, because we are required to send a report (on our quality performance ) to the Danone head office in France on a monthly basis. As part of Danone, PT Golden Mississippi is the only bottled water company in Indonesia whose products are subject to evaluation by Danone each year. And the quality of our products is discussed by Danone at its annual meeting. Thus, our standard of quality is guaranteed.

Is that the reason the price of AQUA is higher than other bottled water brands?

Well, in fact, the price of AQUA should be the standard price. Just compare it to the price of bottled water from other countries. AQUA's production is based on international standards. A big amount of money is needed to invest in international standard machines, production and quality management. These investments are mirrored in the production cost.

As the saying goes, "Ada Harga Ada Rupa" (quality comes at a price). We follow the saying. Besides, AQUA is the only real natural mountain spring water. We use natural spring mountain water in our 12 factories. As drinking water is one of the primary human needs (70% of human body is made up of water) quality should be the top priority. In addition, to ensure an adequate supply of AQUA in other areas, investment is needed to build factories in other areas where consumers live.

What expansion programs have you launched recently?

Our expansion program is one of the barometers of customer satisfaction. That is the ease of customer access to our products. Therefore, we have to be able to develop production facilities in line with market development. In terms of products, we add packaging tailored to the needs of consumers. In general, AQUA sets the trend in packaging in Indonesia, like the bottle and the cup, which have now become the prima donna of the bottled water industry. We position ourselves to be the driver of the industry. Therefore, we have to make endless innovations, like creating new packaging, all of these things are based on the needs of customers.

What steps do you take to keep your spring water sources environmentally safe?

We pay attention to the environmental aspects. We take water from mountain spring resources without posing a threat to the environment, instead, we let the water flows naturally by itself, without having to be pumped. In this regards, our programs are intended to protect water from contamination. Therefore, mountain spring water reserves should be protected by planting trees around water sources areas. We adopt international quality standards to handle water resources, so that water resources are not damaged or contaminated.