FOR SUnday August 25

FOR SUnday August 25

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

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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.
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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.